


Do You See Me Now? ( being rewritten )

by Lady_Daya



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Background Hans (Disney), Canon Compliant, Dark Magic, F/M, Gen, Hans Redemption (Disney), Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Original Character(s), POV Hans (Disney), Post-Canon, Post-Frozen 2 (2019), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Daya/pseuds/Lady_Daya
Summary: Her heart ached, unsure of what was real." Who are you, behind all these masks? " she rasped." Whoever I need to be at the time. "Hans smiled... and that smile had all the evilness in the world.Prince Hans life becomes a little less horrible because of the kindness of a plain girl.Not an impossible, powerful and beautiful former queen, a simple woman with nothing to offer but her heart and the sadness within... But is that all that is locked inside?
Relationships: Anna/Hans (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Elsa/Hans (Disney), Hans (Disney) & Original Female Character(s), Hans (Disney)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 46





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Frozen or any related characters, all copyrights belongs to Disney.  
> This is supposed to be a credible way in how Disney could redeem Hans in a movie or spin off.  
> Bare with me, English is not my native language and this is my first fanfiction… Plz, don't expect levels of excellency, this is going to be a mess, I just hope to make it fun.  
> 

The scenery was not the most beautiful she ever seen.

The Southern Isles was, at its best, a barren land with little to no green, plagued with irregular terrain and a sea of black rocks with no beaches, nothing to compare with the lush vegetation and full colors of realms like Corona.

But the incessant howling wind gave it a sense of solitude buried under this harsh environment, something she was familiar with and finding it almost endearing.

“ So, you are not from here… What brings you to our little paradise, lady? ” the chauffeur chuckled, breaking the monotone sound of the gallops.

“ Oh, you can call me Agatha, sir. “ she replied, finally awake from her daydreaming state. “ I heard about a vacancy in the kitchen’s castle! ”

“ The castle, uh? ” the old man became serious, focusing on just conducting his hay carriage.

She stretches her arms, starting to feeling sore from the long journey, a little conversation would rise her from her slumber.

“ Yes, that’s why i asked for a ride to the city, i’m going to work as a cleaner there. ”

They were slowly descending a small mountain path leading to a vast meadow. It was the first time Agatha have seen grass on the island since she landed on the small quay of the fishing village.

“ I see… In that case i welcome you then, my lady, and also say to not let our _noble_ rulers give you a false impression of the good people of The Southern Isles! ”

He seemed like he wanted to say more, but became silent under his mustache again. Agatha shift her body, so she could move closer to him, inquisitive.

“ What do you mean? ”

“ My, you _really_ aren’t from around here... ” before he could continue, Agatha heard a loud sound of laughs echoing.

She narrowed her eyes, searching the horizon, until she saw a big wooden stable in the distance. There were four men in there, and while she could not see them perfectly, she noticed the three bigger men throwing something at the smaller one, who seems to be shoveling manure on an already full cart.

“ Who are they…? ” she asks, already forgetting the previous conversation.

“ _They_ , my lady, are our _beloved_ princes of the Southern Isles! “ the man’s words drip with derision. “ Well, four of them.”

“ What are they doing with that young man? ”

The chauffeur frowns and startles the horse, suddenly felling the need to make haste.

“ That’s Prince Hans Westergaard, thirteenth son of Your Majesty King Claus and thus far the youngest heir, but the royal family dishonored him. ” he spat on the ground. “ It serves him right!! ”

As they pass through the path next to the stable, Agatha takes a closer look of how the older brothers were pointing and screaming non sense at a dirty man with torn princely attire, while he continues to work, ignoring the mockering.

“ His own family?… Why? ” her curiosity ignites.

The old man raises her an eyebrow.

“ Ever heard of Arendelle? ”


	2. A Bad Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It starts slow but will pace up. The narrative will be presented as telling the events of a Disney movie, describing scenes with some insigth from the characters. Only adults will get the darkest parts, I hope.  
> Since there was no beta reader, reviews are welcome!

_A serpent._

A black serpent made of glittering rocks, entangled in itself with a menacing posture, ready to swallow the whole city. This is how the spur castle looks like to Agatha.

The capital of the Southern Isles is a huge city with a busy commerce of all kinds of merchants, selling everything but their own mothers.  
The black rock that was found only in the islands was very valuable and moved the entire economy, allowing a steady income of imported goods.  
The wealth could be seen in the central part of the capital.  
All buildings, even the smallest of the houses, have semi-circulars arches, rose windows and pointed gray roofs matching the cloudy weather that always threatened rain. 

It would be impressive… if it wasn’t the only city, in a very small kingdom, in a very small island.

It was also bursting with soldiers wearing the realm crest, they never leave their spot and always looks suspiciously over the citizens.  
Agatha realized they were not there to protect, but to watch. 

_This place has two faces._

She remembered the shadows hiding in the alleys, the beggars in the corners and the ragged children they passed on in their way to the castle.  
Maybe she should have checked this reign better before traveling here.

“ Here we are, my lady! ” the chauffeur stopped the hay carriage next to the stairs leading to the castle entrance. “ I’m afraid i will have to leave you now. ”

“ Thank you for everything, sir Jakkob! ” she jumped off the carriage, carrying her little bundle of belongings.

“ No, no, thank _you_ for the company!” he gestures away. “ I wish you luck, you are going to need it! ”

With a movement on the horse's harness, he soon disappeared into the crowd. Agatha watched him go, pondering at his words.

“ Alright, let’s do this! ” with a confident smile, she stepped in the stairs.

It was a difficult climb until she found herself before an enormous gatehouse guarded by two enormous guards, armed with equally enormous halberds.  
They did not move.  


She quickly searched her package for a crumpled letter with a royal seal and shyly showed to them.  
They still didn't move.  


When Agatha tried to pass the gate, they _finally_ move, blocking her way and almost chopping her head off with the halberds.  
One of them pointed to his left, to a dirt path going down the barbican in the outer courtyard. She thanked him and followed the path contouring the impenetrable black walls.  


After a while she heard screams.

**“ Move on, you slimes! Do you want to keep your fingers ?!? ”**

A large woman was stirring among dozens of people in similar aprons. Some of them frantically washing clothes in basins while others were spreading thin sheets on the many scattered poles, all looking exhausted. 

**“ Then work faster! It is almost night time! ”**

Agatha awkwardly dodges among the servants, who ignore her, so focused on their tasks. She is trying to reach the screaming woman, who she assumed was the one in charge. 

“ E-excuse me! Head Maid Lada? ”

Lada turns to her and Agatha cringes. The maid was a tall, stout woman with brown hair that was impeccably arranged in a bun, contrasting with her humble clothes and dirty apron.  
She had the posture of a general, commanding an entire war operation.

“ And who are _you_ ? ” Lada crossed her arms impatiently, arms that could easily break Agatha in two pieces, if she wanted to.

“ My name is Agatha. ” she extends the letter to Lada, a little nervous. “ I'm here to deliver my application to the cleaning job. ”

“ Great! You are hired! ” the head maid doesn’t even look at the letter. “ Start rubbing something! ” 

“ … What? ” 

“ What? ” she smiles. “ You are the only applicant we had in months! I almost gave up. ”

“ How is that possible? ” Agatha was dumb fold, she releases the letter that is carried away by the wind.

“ Where are you from, dear? ” Lada took pity at her confusion.

“ From… from the far east… ” she answered, uncomfortable.

“ You should have stayed there! ” the woman was actually laughing. ” There is nothing here but hard work, even harder punishments and the only payment is the privilege to serve the _amazing_ Westergaard's! ”

“ I still need this job. ” Agatha mumbles.

“ And you got it! Congratulations! Now I need you to do something, the royal family demands clean curtains and bed sheets in the 72 rooms _every_ night! ”

Agatha didn’t ask what would happen if they didn’t make in time.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

_Three years! He had been doing this for the past three years!_

Beneath a starry sky, three ominous figures walk slowly toward the castle.  
An infamous man drags along the way, escorted by two silent guards, until he reaches the city gate.

Hans Westergaard raises his nose, straightens his ragged clothes and lifts his broad shoulders, regaining his royal composure, washing away his tiredness.  
He was a disgrace, but he was also a prince. The royal blood runs into his veins and nobody would forget that, much to his father dismay.  
It was all about keeping the appearances.

In true, King Claus vanity was the only reason why he was spared of a lifetime in the dungeons.  
Maybe this idea wasn't so bad, in prison his brothers wouldn't bother tormenting him, and he could find the peace he craved so much.

Hans shakes his head, pushing away the thought. 

That is what they wanted, they wanted him to be hidden and forgotten. That is why _His Majesty_ ordered him to be brought to the castle only at dawn, with the kingdom asleep, so that no one could see the Great Shame of the Southern Isles…  
Hans didn't intend to disappear so easily.

_Do you see me now, father?_

He _did_ see him, for a short time, the exact time the King usually takes to decide a peasant’s fate.  
In Hans case, the King allowed each of his sons, except good old Lars, to create the most humiliating punishments.  
_" Let’s make him empty the pit every week! "_ or _" Oh, he likes horses sooo much, let’s keep him at cleaning manure for eternity! "_ , and it was decided.

But that was not all...  
He would never regain his rank in the naval army, he would never walk freely, he would never marry, he would never appears in front of any of his relatives, only if requested.  
Thae last one would have been a blessing if his brothers, and even some of his nephews, didn't like to make him a punching bag.  
At least before he had the right to react... A rigth he never used, because it was a lost cause.

Knowing it could be much worse, not even his mother objected it, not that she ever did before… He only wishes he could forget her gaze the day he arrived from Arendelle.  
Public humiliation was nothing new to him, what really made him sick was the fact that they punished him not for what he had tried to do, but because he _failed_ to do so. 

The soldiers who escorted him hated him as much as everyone else, but they were professionals, there was no chance of escaping.  
The prince was known around the world and his father warned him that if he didn’t take his sentence as a _man_ , he would not join the Brotherhood, but the graveyard.  
Hans didn't even flinch. He wasn't a coward, he wouldn't give anyone a reason to believe he was.

_A monster? Sure! A coward? NEVER!_

Honestly, Hans was kind of terrified at the trip back from Arendelle, not because of his father, not because of the trial... He was terrified of coming back to his old life, now even more meaningless.  
Nobody would ever know how deep he buried his fears.

Finally entering the castle after a long walk between the deserted streets, the trio heads to a postern with a bronze door, away from the main gate in the ward. It is used as the service entrance.  
Hans must only walk the corridors reserved for the low employees, a maze of black and suffocating walls, the torches barely illuminated the way. He didn't mind, he had played a lot here as a child, alone, hiding from his family’s antics.

The prince climbs a spiral staircase and emerges in the halls full of mirrors that led to his room. The Westergaard's love their mirrors.  


He was still young and handsome, of course. His greens eyes were as dreamy as ever, his golden red hair shines along his sideburns, molding his chiseled features with light dusting freckles in his royal nose. His strong body changed nothing but his calloused hands, sunburn skin and the occasional bruises from his brothers pranks…  
However, for whatever reason, he didn't recognize himself.  


He speeds up his pace, not wanting to look at his own reflection any longer.  


Reaching his destination, he enters his chambers and closes it without a word.  
The red carpet felt like glass under his boots.  
Now is a very delicate moment.  
The two guards will be guarding his door until the shift change, when other soldiers will take him to the royal stables in the morning.  


None of them would help him.

Normally, his brothers would leave some kind of _surprise_ for him.  
Last time was a snake under the sheets, a venomous one.  
Runo, one of the twins, thought it appropriate.

Hans gaze goes over the horrible portraits of ancestors he never wanted to learn about, his collection of bottled ships, his luxurious bed, the carved bookcase, the unnecessary heavy curtains because there were no windows, his brother Lars, his chest of… _Wait, Lars?_

“ You are getting slow, Hans. ” he says, lighting a candlestick with a match to illuminate the once dark chambers.

“ You would be too if you had to clean five stables a day." he noticed how his older brother looked so much like him, when in the dim ligth.

“ Easy, boy.” Lars smiles, his glasses reflecting the flames. “ I came in peace. ”

“ As always. ” Hans begins to take off his coat, eager for a bath he had yet to prepare. 

“ Mother sends her regards. ” his brother mutters.

“ Queen Habba could send them herself. ” Hans turns his back on Lars, untying his ruined classy cravat and trying not to sound miserable at the same time. He failed on both things.

“ You know she can't. ” Lar's voice softned. “ She has exhausted all her favors with the King in order to convince him not to send you to the Brotherhood.”

“ ...Or to not get me a little _accident._ ” Hans completes.

They both chuckles, then stares at each other, their faces immediately darkens in silence. They knew what their father was capable of.

“ If King Claus knows that you are here you will be in trouble. ” Hans sighs.

“ Father can't control everything. " his brother's eyelashes lowered, veiling his expression. " You are proof of that. "

Hans noticed the drop of pride hidden in those few words, as well as the sadness.  
He never asked for anyone's forgiveness, though Lars forgave him anyway, he was the only brother that ever treated him with some humanity. 

Lars approaches to place the candlestick on the nightstand, then sits on the antique four-poster bed, when he looks at Hans, his eyes burned intently. 

“ Some news flies fast and I didn't want you to be caught off guard. ” 

Hans proceeds removing his gloves and tossing it aside with his dirty clothes, nonchalant.

“ It is about Arendelle, Hans. ” 

The throwaway prince stiffens for a brief moment that lasts less than a second. 

“ Then spare me. ” Hans sits next to him, taking off his boots. “ I could not care less. ”

He could feel Lars struggling with the words… Lars never does that.

“ Princess Elsa abdicated the throne to her sister... ” 

_No._

“ ... And Queen Anna got married this summer. ”

_Stop._

_I don't want to hear it._

“ That is all I had to say. ” Lars get up on his feet, moving to the door.

“ Do _they_ already know? ” Hans voice is steady.

Lars stops, taking a last look at his little brother before leaving.

“ Yes. ” 

A warning.  
Lars went to his quarters to warn him.

His life was about to become much, much worse.  


Prince Hans waited for his brother to leave.  
He waited a moment longer... Before abruptly getting up and grabbing the closest thing next to him and hurling it with so much strength into the black walls.  
Pieces of glass and wood scattered across the room.  


He walked in circles, his hands digging nails into his arms.  
His breathing was panting, his green eyes bulging.  
Hans wanted to scream, he wanted to scream forever.

Instead, he runs his hand through his hair, breathes in, and crouches down to collect the shards from the floor.  
The prince recognizes what he had broken, his favorite bottled ship, the one that represented the first colonists.

“ Always making a mess, don't you, Hans? ” he whispers to himself.

Suddenly, he takes a large shard of glass in his hands. He stares at it for a long time.


	3. Haunted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not intented to be a fanfic to excuse Hans behaviour or to get people to feel pity for him  
> Disney labelled Hans as a villain, a lesson to be learned... But the class is not over.  
> 

Agatha had woken up before dawn in the crowded servant’s quarters.  
The walls in there had not been worked and the crude black rocks standing out made her feel like she was inside the belly of a beast.

Her designed hay bed was uncomfortable to sleep and did nothing to smooth her sore from the yesterday laundry duty.  
Before she could even eat her morning piece of bread, the Head Maid dragged her along the halls. 

It was hard to navigate between the jumbled side corridors holding a heavy bucket full of water containing cloths and a mop, but Agatha manages to follow Lada to the west wing of the donjon, full of imposing oil portraits, depicting dignified red haired rich people.

“ Dust the frames, polish the trinkets and mop the floor. Keep cleaning until you reach the entrance. "

Agatha didn't hear Lada's voice, she was too shocked gazing at a kilometric hallway without windows.  
She soon feels suffocated.

"Do not let the nobles see you or you will be chastened with two days without food." Lada passes her duster to Agatha. “ You have until noon. "

“ Wait, am I the only...? ”

When the young woman was able to open her mouth, Lada had already left.

Is she supposed to clean the gallery alone?  
Agatha wanted to help people, not to work for tyrannical pampered rulers!  
She is tired, and hungry, and dirty, and… and… Feeling sorry for herself.

_No, Agatha! You can do it !_

Agatha slips up her sleeves, determination emanating from her, 

“ I’ll finish it at ten! ” she picks up a golden bowl and begins to polish it furiously.

At eight o’clock she was almost passing out. 

But it was worth it!  
Everything was sparkling, she smiled proudly at herself.  
The last silver tray she polished was like a mirror, reflecting her image with perfection... 

_Oh…_

She looked tired.

Agatha always had long, spiky, black hair, but today it was particularly messy, giving her round face a wild aura.  
Her big, brown eyes, usually shining with curiosity, had heavy bags under them.  
The tiny mark under her right eye almost couldn’t be seen.  
Her cheeks, once full and rosed, had lost their colors in her fair skin, making her greek nose standing more that she would like. 

She is tired, that’s all, but she shouldn’t be!

Her built wasn’t delicate, her hips too large, her shoulders too broad, and she was too tall, not so much like Lada, but still… What she lacked in grace she compensated with endurance and persistence. 

And she would use that to finish her task! 

Really, Lada ought to, at least, have shown her the royal family’s faces, she only knew their names because of the gossip!  
Well, that was her fault, Agatha should have researched more before traveling here, actually, she should have researched about the whole world, but fate was calling and all that.

The Head Maid probably lived here her entire live and assumed everybody would know about the Westergaard’s, like they were part of the local fauna, animals that had always belonged to this habitat. They were famous, after all... Common sense.

Maybe the portraits of the current ruling family were in the walls too? With names, hopefully.

The numerous pictures of the Westergaard's ancestors framed in the black walls were gazing ominous at her.  
They were all beautiful and looked like each other. 

Agatha tried to remember her own family.

She had a mom, a dad and an older brother with blue eyes, their hair as black as hers, their voices echoing inside her mind, yet, not their faces.  
Because they are gone a long, long time ago. 

With an effort, she tries, and tries, and tries.

She remembered being loved and protected, nothing more.

The young woman drops her gaze, defeated...

Something stirs inside of her.

_Stop with that, already !_

Yes, she was loved once, it is more than many people have ever had.

Deciding to not waste time, she begins dusting the frames, being thankful for her height, at least.  
As she cleans, she examines each one of the pictures, realizing they were in chronological order.

She reached the recent painting of King Claus and Queen Habba in the throne room.  
He was the personification of rage, a redhead sitting in his throne adorned with jewels, a face with a narrowed semblance as dark as the rocks of his kingdom. 

Queen Habba, on other hand, was empty. 

There was no other word to describe her.

The Queen's green eyes were empty and more tired than Agatha. 

What could have happened to this lovely dame that even the royal painter could not cover up?

Agatha just needed another glimpse of the king's scowl to understand.  
Although the Queen was definitely the most beautiful blond in the entire gallery, she was also the most unhappy.

Following the ruler’s paintings, the portraits of his thirteen dashing sons with their wives and children.  
All the women hid a misery behind their eyes, some of the kids too.

Caleb, the first-born heir, clean shaved, chest swollen like a pigeon's.  
Franz, long hair, almost seven feet of pure muscle.  
Lars, surprisingly gentle eyes behind a pair of glasses.  
Jurgen, a beard covered his entire face.

Rudi and Runo, the twins… _Twins?_  
One had average height and red hair, the other was much taller, with blond hair, pale skin, paler eyes.  
The only things they had in common was a mischievous smile and no wives.

She passes trough the other sons, all gorgeous resembling their mother, except for Runo…  
Did she count right? There were only twelve paintings.  
She was sure there were thirteen sons.

_Where is Prince Hans portrait ?_

The Great Shame of the Southern Isles, she recalled the chauffeur saying. 

They removed his painting.

She was not able to see him well the day she arrived, he was so far away, dirty, and the hay carriage was fast.  
Probably she will never meet him, for what she heard, he was at house arrest and only leaves his chambers to work at the stables.

It made sense, if he wasn’t royalty, a much terrible fate would have fallen on him.  
His family stripped him away from their memories, a sinner paying for his sins.  
Why did she fell a sting of pity?

_Being forgotten, erased…_

Agatha crossed her arms, she wished not to feel so related to a convicted criminal.  
She also wished to stop judging him, since everybody was already doing that.

Enough of the Westergaard’s, the floor still needed to be scrubbed.  
Agatha only wanted to meet her masters, not to have so much insight into their lives.

Resignated, she walks back to the bucket, but deter herself.  
A shiver covered her spine.

From the corner of her eye she saw a dark form taking the image of a little boy.  
He slowly begins to gleam a purple light..

Agatha jumps startled. She backs off, not seeing where she's going, eventually tripping over the bucket and ended sitting on it, wetting her bum, the cloths flies in the air and land on her head.

_Ouch !_

Agatha blinks, the boy was still there.  
Despise her initial scare, she had seemed something like this before, in another life, in another time.  
She was a creature too curious to be afraid for long, even from the things she should obviously be afraid of… Like a haunt.

_Again with the purple colors!_

This was not a haunt... It was a memory.

Without approaching him, she tries to make out his features, but his image is transparent.  
She can only distinguish his expensive clothes. 

All of a sudden, a bunch of kids hovers behind him, the boy starts crying.

_“ Hansel! Hansel ! ”_ they chant.

One of them takes something that looks like a jar and pours it over the boy.

_" What's the matter, Hansel? Are you going to cry for mommy ? "_

They laugh and the little boy runs away.

Agatha watches him pass the north door like a ghost.  
A bright flash of light swallowing the entire room blinds her.  
When she opens her eyes, she is completely alone.

This ... This was unexpected.  
Did her presence arouse something in the palace?  
Should she leave?  
Ah, but she was already inside the serpent's mouth, was it too late?

She should have traveled to Arendelle as soon she heard about their powerful Queen, but she hadn't any more money and was trapped here.  
Yet, she _chose_ to come here at first, this place called her with a voice louder than Arendelle.  
She needed to know why.

Agatha was taught to follow the magic, although she had forgotten by whom, so that is what she is going to do.  
Flexing her knees, she storms out the hallway, venturing to chase after the ghostly child.

“ I’ll do it just this time.” she reassures herself.

Lada told her the staff must use their designated corridors to transit, the vision of rabble was insulting to the royal family, they should stay out of sight.  
She needed to be haste and careful.

A wind blows out of nowhere, lifting the window curtains.  
The purple gleaming boy reappears.  
He is not running amok, but trembling, a large distorted figure in front of him.

_“ You are not worth of my time, boy ! ”_ it growls.

The vision fades away and another one takes place.  
Five figures surrounded someone. 

_“ Father told us to make a man of you, Hans ! ”_

The cornered lad struggles, being able to hit one of his bullies in the chin.  
They launch themselves at him... Agatha looks away.

Now the whole hall is filled with bright purple visions, showing people whose voices Agatha hears in static.

_“… a disappointment… ”_

_“ … he is weak… ”_

_“ … thirteen is an unlucky number… ”_

The murmurs grows louder, Agatha recognizes a name.

Events from the past... _His_ past.

“ Why am I seeing Prince Hans memories? ” she is genuinely confused.

The previous flash of light blinds her again, clearing the visions.  
She felt a strange energy in the air.

Realizing that nothing else would be manifested, she went to the gallery, where she left her cleaning supplies.  
Right now, she must wait, she must follow the magic.  
It would all make sense, eventually. 

**************************************************************************************************************************

A week passes and everyday, wherever Agatha was working inside or outside the keep, she was haunted with Hans memories.

She saw him being ignored in parties, saw Hans’s determination in his duties, trying to earn his father approval, failing at it despise his achievements.  
She saw Hans brother’s pranks, childish ones like a bucket of mud hovering a semi-opened door, falling on his head as he opens it, cruel ones like pushing him off his horse, injuring him badly.  
She saw Hans’s swordplay practice, where his brothers would gang up against him in an unfair fight.

Hans, Hans, Hans… 

Agatha learned to recognize him in blurry visions, seeing him practically everywhere. It made her overwhelmed, her head spinning, it was too much.  
Maybe she was just hallucinating, albeit, when she thought she would go crazy, some not-so-terrible memories appeared. They were extremely rare.  
Little Hans playing with a wooden horse. Hans hugging his mother. An older Hans reading with his brother Lars. 

One of her favorite memories — _his_ memories — was in the staff’s kitchen.  
One day, she was helping Lada to prepare the serf's food when the purple glow that only she could see shined around. 

The little prince descend the stairs, moving sneakily behind a much younger Lada. He stands on tiptoe to grab a piece of a pie above the table.

_“ Prince Hans! You should not be here ! ”_ Lada exclaims in a voice pretending to be surprise.

_“ I smelled peach pie ! ”_ Hans giggles.

_“ You can have all the pies after... ”_ the maid trails off.

_“ My brothers just leave me crumbs. ”_ he whimpers with a sulky face before she can finished.

_“ Okay, you can have the pie, don’t tell anyone. ”_ Lada smiles at him fondly.

_“ Thank you, Lada ! ”_ Hans looked uncertain. _“ Uh... what about you ? ”_

_“ I can make another one. ”_ she winks.

_“ Please, let me help, pleeeeease ! ”_ the boy pleaded, excited.

_“ This in not fit for a prince, Your Highness. ”_ Lada pokes the tip of his nose, leaving a flour mark on it.

_“ I don’t want to be a prince, i want to be your friend ! ”_ he beams.

Agatha observed the scene forming in front of her with a smile.  
She must had been making a very weird face since the real, old Lada frowns at her.  
Agatha bluntly returns to chop the carrots.  
The memory faded in a mist this time, not in a flash of light.  
She made up all kinds of excuses to go back to the kitchen, hoping to see it just one more time... She never did.

That night, at the servant’s quarters, Agatha was eating a greasy rice soup, immersive in her thoughts, oblivious to the conversation.

“ Yes, the Great Shame got very ill! Divine justice, i say! ” a fat man at her side says.

“ _Hah!_ More like his brothers fault. ” 

That caught her attention, she leans in to hear it better.

“ He is still going to the stables, thank god! ” the man continues, spitting rice. “ Now, he really needs a maid but no one wants to — ”

“ Quiet! ” Lada gets up of her spot at the table, piercing the talkative men. “ You know we don’t talk about that here! Or about _him!_ ”

If the Head Maid was sorrowful about Hans, she didn't show. They continue to eat… Agatha was the only one who looked worried.

She had trouble sleeping after that, more trouble than usual anyway, since her bed was as comfy as a pile of wood.  
Her anxiety overpowers her tiredness, she chooses to take a walk inside the castle, having more or less memorized the guards patrol.

The young woman moves to an almost unused wing at the south side of the dark palace.  
She had found it by chance during the cleaning service. 

Not really paying much attention, Agatha perceives she is in a much more luxurious hallway, where she shouldn’t be.  
As she prepares to leave, she hears a creak on one of the doors. The purple light glows from the inside.

Curiosity will be the end of her.

Sneaking in, she surveys for someone.  
The room was immense, full of dust and cobwebs, white sheets covering the furniture and no torches.  
There were rusty swords resting at the floor, an old lute, wooden toys… A small painting facing the walls.

She turned it around and sees, for the first time with complete clarity, the face of Prince Hans Westergaard of the Southern Isles.

He was as stunning as she imagined him to be, in the blurry visions.

Agatha carefully hangs the picture at the wall and contemplates it for a moment, a warm feeling she doesn't recognize grows in her heart.

Having to blink several times in order to not be lost in the deep forest of his eyes.  
So this was Hans’s abandoned chambers, before he was relocated to the other side of the castle.

A glowing mist invades the room, bringing purple images with it.  
Agatha braces herself.  
Another memory, Hans and a man with glasses, Lars.  
He sounds disappointed.

_“ We prepared for three years, you had to marry the queen, not to dispose of her and usurp the throne ! ”_ Lars puts his hands on his hip, staring at the ceiling in disbelief. _“ … Were you really planning to do that ? ”_

_“ Not at first. ”_ Hans says in a deaf tone. 

_“ I don’t know who you are. ”_ Lars takes his glasses off to rub his eyes. _“ I guess nobody ever did. ”_

They dissipates into a whirlwind mist, circling another part of the room, where it begins to take another shape... A woman in a crown, talking with someone.

_“ My son, are you alright ? ”_ Queen Habba goes to Hans, placing both hands on his face. 

_“ Just surprised you had the time to see me. ”_ he adopts a haughty posture. 

_“ I am your mother, of course i would... ”_ she hesitates. 

_“ As long as father allows it, isn’t ? ”_ Hans spat.

_“ I know our family may had some hand pushing you at doing this… ”_ she ignores his remark. 

_“ I am a grown up man, mother, nobody made me do anything. ”_ he cuts her off, removing her hands gently from him. 

_“ Do you regret it ? ”_ she can’t look him in the eyes. 

__

_“ Would a lion regret his attempt to hunt a prey? Even if he failed at it? ”_ Prince Hans turns from her, clasping his hands behind his back. _“ It is in our nature. ”_

The Queen tries to reach for her son, but she hesitates and her arms fall to her sides  
She moves to the door, her feet heavy.  
Prince Hans remains motionless.

_“... You sound like your father. ”_ the Queen says wistfully, before leaving. 

Agatha sees his reaction, even if his mother didn’t. 

His eyes widen, like he was experiencing a new kind of pain.  
He scowls in anger, his chest swells, he clenches his fists, he shakes… 

She felt ashamed for herself.  
She shouldn’t been watching this. 

Her curiosity vanishes as she realizes that she has invaded someone's most personal moments... This was private, sacred.  
Hans’s life opened to her without his consent, without him even knowing it.  
Agatha wanted to run, she would search for her answers somewhere. 

__

She glimpses at his face as to say goodbye.  
Instead, she falters. 

Prince Hans staggers to the wall, leaning to rest a hand on it, like he was unable to support his own weight. 

_“ I’m sorry. ”_ he squints. 

Agatha was at his side, she tries to touch his shoulder and her hands pass trough him.  
She can't comfort a ghost from the past. 

_Am i seeing his memories just to feel sorry for him?_

She felt sorry for the boy he used to be, not for the man.  


His troubled past was no excuse for his actions.  
On the contrary, he feasted on it, it gave him motivation, inflated his ambition.  
She hadn't seen a single vision about Arendelle, possibly because she wasn't there, but she _knew_.  
The prince saw an opportunity, he planned, he would do anything, to anyone, to get what he wanted.  
He was just sorry to had become what he despised most in the process.

She knew all that, somehow. 

“ No, I don’t pity you.” she says. “ I _understand_ you. ” 

Agatha stares at Hans until he fades away, turning in a beautiful, sparkling purple dust.  
The chambers were quiet again. 

Not for long. 

Lada rush inside the room, a mixture of worry and anger on her features. 

__

“ Oh, I found you, you little...! ” she was panting “ This room is off limits! What are you even... ? ” 

__

The old maid rests her hands on her knees, catching her breath, rambling about the patrol, the chastises, the rules and so on and so forth.  
Agatha barely listens to her, still staring at the wall. 

__

“ Prince Hans of the Southern Isles... ” Agatha finally says, solemnly. 

Lada looks baffled at her, like she had said a very bad word. 

__

“ His maid... ” 

Agatha will follow the magic. 

“ … I want to be his maid. ”


	4. Invisible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited the previous chapters, if you are reading this, maybe you should check them again... sorry. It is hard for me to write a Disney movie. Is this story confusing? Bad? Boring? Plz, tell me.

Prince Hans was _not_ sorry.

He was not sorry for spending years being the King's errand boy to get permission to visit Arendelle, he was not sorry for losing everyone’s trust, he was not sorry for any despicable thing he ever did...  
What he _was_ sorry for, was for his reminiscence.

The Southern Isles sky is gray great part of the seasons, but the rains were scarce during the year and when it rained, it was as stormy as Caleb's tantrums.

It didn't make any difference to Hans, he must work at the stables, whatever the weather.  
King Claus hoped that his youngest would be struck by a lightning at any moment and save him the trouble.

Trying to soothe anxious horses during a storm is unwise, his goal was simply to keep them safe and contained until the bad weather passes.

Admiring — _more like hating it_ — the bleak landscape from the stables stalls, the prince view the raging storm as fascinating and unexpectedly felt alive, challenging a true force of nature. It reminded him of a certain queen.

His reverie got him distracted.

A thunder scares one of the horses behind him.  
If he didn't have quick reflexes, the recoil would have hurled him away.  
The move only partially takes him out of the way, he hits his head on a horseshoe hanging from the stall.  
Hans passes out in the open, under heavy rain.

He got delirious the nex day.

Hans doesn't remember much after that, except dreaming of sailing away with his fjord horse, like he used to dream. 

He coughs, lifting heavy manure shovels in the stables, his fever gets worse, the stench made him dizzy and the morning cold air was giving him the shivers.  
He _hated_ the cold.

He leans at the shovel to rest and closes his eyes to visualize the sea.

_A free man, his faithful horse and a vessel._

Oh, yes… He didn’t have a horse anymore, Sitron stayed at Arendelle as an apology gift from the King. 

_Pfff, rigth, as father had not done it to punish me even more._

Sitron was given to him at his 15ht birthday, they grew up together.  
Being an expensive animal, the King didn’t allow any of his brothers to damage him, saving him from becoming one of Hans many precious things his brothers had destroyed.  
There was no other horse like Sitron, he never had any problem with storms, either.  
He was his best friend.

His best friend is a horse… He really is pathetic.

He had nothing and yet managed to lose everything.  
Now he has an useless title and the Westergaard name he hated.

All because he wanted to prove to the world and to himself that he was capable of greatness on his own.

There were other things he wanted likewise...  
He wanted his father's approval to later dismiss it as if it was nothing, he wanted to prove to his brothers that he was better than them, he wanted his mother's attention, so he could ignore her.  
Now, he just wanted some kind of freedom.

No, Prince Hans was not sorry.  
He was _livid._

What, exactly, was his punishment for?  
Yes, yes, for his failure, but what else?

It is not like he would have pleasure in hurting the sisters, it was a _mean_ to an end.  
He wasn’t even planning that at first, but then Elsa was unapproachable, against his marriage with Anna and had freaky magical powers! He had to adapt his plans.  
It kind of snowballed from there.

_Ugh, what a terrible pun._

It was just after the coronation party that he decided Elsa was too dangerous to live. He still thinks she is.  
Well, he is dangerous too, isn't he?

Unable to plot a way out of his predicament, being too busy drowning himself in self-pity and manure, he would think of something eventually.  
Hans learned patience dealing with his _dear_ father, he also learned that if people don’t respect you, if people don’t follow you, make them fear you. 

Whilst his family couldn't think less of him and the soldiers mockery him behind his back, he can sense the hint of fear behind the citizens eyes.  
It gave him a small illusion of power.

He was still someone, someone to be feared, ignored, despised, but still someone!  
His mere existence were an affront to the Westergaard's clan and that gives him purpose, he dares to dream of freedom.

He shall endure, until the King passes away and whatever new fate he decides for himself after that... He shall endure.

Prince Hans goes back to the harsh reality.  
Using his foot to bury the shovel deeper into the manure, at the same time his fever got the better of him, he loses his balance and falls backwards…

… Someone holds him.

The creepiest woman he ever saw.

She looked as astonished as him.  
Prince Hans was a good actor, when he wanted to be, but right now he is incapable to avoid a disgusted face.

“ My Lord. ” she gives him a shy, even creepier, smile. “ Glad i caught you. ”

He manages to untangle himself from her arms with a swift movement and stands upright, running his hands over his clothes to wipe off any trace of her touch, as if it were dirtier than the manure they were stepping on.

It was important that she noticed the gesture.  
Even at the stables, he needed to maintain the facade of arrogance before the commoners, it was what reminded them, besides the princely attire, that he was still royalty, and they should not mess with him... Only his family could that.

“ Who are you? ” his tone was sharper than he intented, his slightly hurt manhood could be the cause.

A man doesn't like to be handled like a helpless maiden, even if he saved him from falling flat at 5 feet of manure.

“ I’m Agatha, sir, your new serf. ” she bows awkwardly.

Hans talents arose unconsciously when he met someone new.  
He takes one good look at her and already knows everything there is to know about the woman.

Her unkempt appearance; poor background.  
Her shyness; low self-esteem.  
Her hands; diligent worker.  
Her intelligent eyes; curiosity.  
Her mild posture; cautiousness.

Boring, uninteresting… He grabs the shovel.

“ I am not allowed to have any serf. ” he ignores her surprise. “ Leave and tell my brothers to try harder. ” 

Agatha keeps her head down until he addresses her again, like the maids customarily do. The weird woman was trying to be courteous, she didn’t look to be joking. Perchance, she wasn't there at the behest of his brothers pranks.

“ No-nobody told Your Highness? ” she fumbles her hands, nervous. “ I’m to serve as your maid until you recovers from your illness. ”

Were they genuinely allowing him to have a serf?  
What would they take back in return?

Getting ill was a sign of weakness, it should not be rewarded.  
His family probably wanted to keep a closer eye on him and not be accused of negligence by the court, it would be bad for politics.

It would also reflect bad at the King, a father must take care of his sons, black sheep or not.  
Appearances, appearances...

He was surprised they found someone willing to deal with him.  
Or forced to do so.

“ What did you do to deserve this chastisement? ” he keeps working, detached.

“ I volunteered, sir. ” she answers matter-of-fact. 

_Now, now… That is interesting._

Prince Hans turns to her, his smile showing his canines in a predatory way.  
She stiffens, she isn't lying.

Her pale complexion indicated someone from a colder climate, her skin wasn’t dry because of the constant wind, her hair was so black it had a slight bluish reflection, he didn't recognize her subtle accent.  
She wasn’t from the Southern Isles.

“ Why would you do that? ” he walks to her, a hand on his chin, an old hunger that he have forgotten awaking in his core. “ Are you running from something, Agatha? ” 

_Are you here to give me more trouble that you are worth of ?_

“ N-no, Your Highness needed help and I’m happy to help...” she was stepping back at each of his advances, a little panicked.

A complete stranger wants to help him.  
Plainly with no dubious motivations, of course.

“ Is that so…? ” he cross his arms, his smile wides.

He could tell Agatha was a mere peasant, and while being honest about volunteering, she was hiding the _why._

Hans is certain "desperation" would have something to do about it, but he wanted specifics.

“ Yes, my Prince! It would be an honor! ” she bows again, too quickly as to show excitement.

On the other hand, Agatha may be a naive woman who doesn't know what she is getting into.  
She doesn’t have anyone who cares for her either, or they would never let her get near the _degenerate_ Prince Hans.  
People who care about you keep you out of danger, It doesn't matter how well you can take care of yourself.  
A lesson he learned at Arendelle.

“ Why did you met me here and not at the castle? ” he tilts his head to look deeply in her eyes. 

The woman was easily readable, five more minutes, and he would discover her deepest secrets.  
If he played nice, she could become an ally, and he could take advantage of it.  
Or not, his father was not so stupid to let that happens.

“ Cook Lada told me to meet you here, sir. ” she averts his gaze. “ I was expecting a formal introduction… ”

He thought about Lada, the nice scullary maid from his childhood days, the one who was as quick to judge and hate him as the rest of the Southern Isles.

“ I am a prisoner, there is no need of that. ” he points at the half full manure cart. “ This will take a while. ”

Agatha approaches a second shovel leaning against the cart and begins to shoveling with him.

“ I don’t need any help. ” this was his punishment alone.

“ I- I want to help anyway, my lord ” she smiles. “ Please, let me help. ”

He did not know if there were repercussions if someone helped him with his penance, no one had done it before.  
Hans was sure that was not part of her obligations, all the same, if she was so eager to please, he would not complain.  
Disregarding that any change in his routine always ended badly, he consents with his head.

“ Thank you, sir. ” she continues to work by his side.

Hans can’t remember the last time someone thank him, much less for something like _this._

He overhears the heavy sound of metal and gallops approaching.  
Two elite soldiers with helmets and halberds dismount from horses to salute him. His usual escort was previously positioned at the entrance of the stables, why were these soldiers here?

“ Prince Hans, His Majesty King Claus commands you to return to your quarters. ” one of them says. “ Your assignment is done for today. ”

Some people who doesn’t know the King very well would mistake the order as a small mercy.  
Hans is not one of those people.

His father didn’t want his sick son passing out or dying in front of his subjects.  
His mother didn't want a heavy conscious.

Not really looking forward it, he throws the shovel away and moves on.  
Hans almost loses his balance again and Agatha mentions to catch him, but he regains his composure.

“ I said I don’t need any help. ” he snarls with his chin up. 

_Don’t look weak. Don’t look weak._

Condemned, vicious, unlawful... But weak? We can’t have that!

Agatha glances discreetly at the soldiers, then nods at him, understandably.  
She wasn’t oblivious to the game. It made him more suspicious of her. 

He didn’t have any pride left, he was used to the humiliation, to not take it personally. Nevertheless, he could not get used to be helped.  
People leave at the slightest sign of trouble, when you need them most, they will exploit you to the bones over your dependence.

Even Lars was getting tired of the _spare._

Hans was aware he got it easier compared with the sentences of common criminals with similar chargers, he couldn't let it soften him.  
He needed to be in survival mode. Always.

Show weakness and you will be eaten alive.  
It was the exclusive opinion he shared with his father.

The soldiers surround him, slowly guiding him through the way to the spur castle.  
Agatha follows like a shadow. 

They take the longer path that circled the town, designed to the back entrance of the capital, used by the military to avoid curious eyes.

He climbs the castle stairs with an effort that nobody would notice he was doing.  
Inside the defensive walls, after the barbican, they pass the inner ward in direction to the keep.

It took all his strength to reach his chambers.  
Hans doesn’t search for any of his brothers “ surprises ”, letting a lot of potentially dangerous " accidents " waiting to happen.

He only needs to sit down a little and gropes through the air, looking for the bed.  
His legs shakes, his vision fades... He crumbles.

_Pathetic._

Agatha catches him, he didn’t notice she was there. 

“ Don’t... ” he manages to say.

“ Apologies, but I have to. ” she whispers. “ Don’t worry, there is no one here to see you, my lord. ”

“ You are here. ” he tries to focus.

“ I am nobody. ” her voice sounds raspy to his ears.

He was slow to react, being sick and tired, obviously.  
Agatha was as tall as him, making it easier to support him.  
Prince Hans let her help him, not caring anymore.  
Her touch were very gentle… and warm.  
It must be his fever.

“ Your Highness, let's take you to the bed, shall we? ”

He wasn't listening to her.  
His conscious was already slipping away.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

He wakes up with a snore. Not his.

Agatha is sleeping soundly on the floor, with her head resting on the edge of the bed, next to him.

Hans looks around and sees a basin of water, cloths with smell of camphor, a tray of tea on the nightstand, his shirt and boots across the room, over a chair.

Agatha was competent, she stayed up all night trying to lower his fever.

He pokes her and she awakens startled. Her eyes meet his, and she smiles in relief.  
No one seemed so relieved to see him before.  
It must had been a rough night.  
In a second she straightens up, muttering excuses about her intrusion. 

He makes a mention to the wardrobe and than to his bare chest.  
Agatha’s face get redder than Hans hair, she takes the cue and prepares his clothes in a hurry.

Prince Hans suppresses a smirk, keeping his face straight.  
He always found his effect on women amusing, an easy kind of power he have yet to master.  
He only used it once, in Arendelle, when there was something to gain from it.  
Not the case here. Not yet.

He stands up and after putting a shirt on, he coughs and falters back.  
The woman shakes her head and takes him back to the bed.

_She is treating me like a child!_

Hans opens his mouth to protest, but Agatha shoves a spoon with castor oil into it.  
He is absolutely sure now that someone sent Agatha to poison him. 

While he is coughing until his lungs explodes, Agatha tell the guards that he needs a doctor, as she already had requested before, and they assure her that they will pass on the message.

Hans slept for hours and Agatha finished cleaning his chambers.  
Yet, no one comes.

No one besides Lars.

“ Are you still on the brink of death, brother? ” his muffled voice echoes through the door.

“ Let him in, Agatha. ” Hans is still on bed, dazed with sleep. 

“ Prince Lars. ” Agatha opens the door cordially, standing aside so that he can enter.

“ Oh, good night, my dear. ” Lars looks at him, puzzled. “ Pardon, I didn’t know you have company. ”

“ She is my new serf. ” Hans gets up of the bed, indifferent.

“ In that case... ” Lars adjusts his glasses. “ I appreciate your goodwill in taking care of my brother, God knows how difficult he can be. ”

Lars takes a pause in his sentences when he is thinking something ulterior.  
Hans can imagine what it could be.  
Lars was evaluating Agatha just like he did when he first met her.

“ It is my honor, Your Highness. ” she keeps her head down.

“ Agatha, I need some time alone with my brother. ” Hans smiles. “ Why don’t you prepare us the supper? ”

She makes a curtsy at them and leaves quietly.  
They both stay in silence, smiling blankly at the closed door for a while.

“ Did you have something to do with her? ” Hans snapped at his brother.

“ Afraid not, but I heard Lada was looking for someone to be your maid. ” Lars wears his usual aloof face again. “ You make a terrible mess when you’re ill, since you were a baby. ”

Agatha can’t be trusted.  
Her desperate to win his trust, her willingness to help, it was too suspicious.  
He'll dismiss her.

Not now, after she tidies up around a little more.

“ Speaking of babies… How is Helga and little Jerns? ” Hans opens his wardrobe, searching for his blue waistcoat. 

It is hard for him to hide his inner turmoils from Lars.  
His older brother could be too perceptive at times.  
So, Hans occupies himself with something while talking with him.  
If Lars ever notice this, he never said a word about it.

“ My son doesn’t hate me yet, despite my wife's best efforts. ” Lars sits heavily on an armchair, crossing his legs.

“ Peace brother, he’ll never have a reason to hate you. ” Hans struggles with the buttons.

_You are not me._

“ He is three years old and I already worry about his future. ” Lars exhales, something he rarely does.

“ He can’t do worse than me. ” Hans sniffs, pretending not to care about the delicate matter. “ And you forgave me. ”

“ If you had hurt someone, I would never had forgiven you. ” Lars eyes pierces into Hans.

Lars was the third child, after he was born, the queen went without conceiving for years.  
For a little time, he was the object of the family's contempt and bullying.  
Far from having received the same treatment as Hans, he still empathized with his little brother.  
But he would only go so far.

“ You forgave me because you refuse to admit you could be so wrong about me. ” Hans remarked, taking his time to button his waistcoat to avoid his brother’s glare at him. “ Careful, pride will be your downfall. ”

“ Pride had nothing to do with it, Hans, it was hope. ” the older prince drops his gaze.

“ Even worse. ” Hans coughs, crossing the room to the nightstand.

“ It doesn't mean I trust you one bit. ” Lars takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes his glasses.

“ Great, you shouldn’t. ” Hans grabs a pair of gloves from the drawers, tucking his fingers in. “ You shouldn’t _care_ either. ”

“ I fear what I'll become if I don't. ” Lars words were drawled. 

The princes were silent. Some things didn't have to be said.  
Lars feared becoming one of his brothers.  
Hans had succumbed to the deplorable behavior of the family he was trying to escape.  
One man was still fighting, the other had already lost.  
Hans coughs breaks the silence.

“ I can see you're still breathing... Good, keep doing that.” Lars places his glasses back on. “ How do you feel? ”

Hans was _fine_ , completely _fine._

The fact that his mother did not come see him didn’t bother him.  
The cheers of “ alleluia ” from the castle staff when they heard he had been ill and locked in his room with the possibility of dying didn’t bother him.  
His fever didn’t bother him.

“ My demise would make a lot of people happy, so I’ll live out of spite, much like father. ” Hans grinned, shoving the gloom aside.

“ You may have faith in our father's immortality, but I don't. ” Lars wagged a finger at Hans. “ He is giving Caleb more responsibilities by the day... As soon as he sits at the throne, this kingdom is finished. ” 

_I'll be finished too, after whatever new punishment he will create for me._

“ You acquired the terrible habit of giving me news I don’t care about. ” Hans takes a cravat from the nightstand and ties it on. 

“ It concerns all of us, Hans. ” his older brother arises from the armchair. 

“ How is the feeling of impending doom? I'm quite familiar with that. ” Hans chuckles trails off in a wave of coughs.

“ This is not funny, Hans. ” Lars face is stern.

“ No, it’s not... It is treason. ” Hans says flatly. “ The walls have ears, Lars! If you are so wary, leave the Southern Isles with your family. ”

“ I can’t abandon my country like a rat jumping from a sinking ship. ” Lars gets closer, towering him. “ Someone must control Caleb, mother can only do so much.

“ And you came for me for ideas? I’m flattered, I thought you said you didn’t trust me. ” Hans frowns, he can feel his fever coming back.

“ I’m only here to check on you. ” Lars shrugs. “ Besides, your ideas doesn’t end well. ”

“ Sending me to Arendelle was _your_ idea. ” Hans coughs. “ But I guess what happened there was entirely my fault. ” 

“ We can’t be brilliants all the time. ” Lars smiles sadly. 

Suddenly, Hans is overcome by a series of sneezes he can’t control.  
Lars holds him a handkerchief.

“ You should go, brother. ” Hans soberly accepts the offered handkerchief. “ I am contagious. ”

Hans was not just referring to his cold, Lars understands the subtle meaning of what he said.  
The two princes thought too much, felt too much, they always did.  
And the Westergaard's don't do emotions.

“ Rest, you look terrible... I’ll call for your maid. ” Lars pats Hans on the back and turns to the door. “ You should keep her around, I have a feeling you are going to need her. ”

Before Hans can ask what his brother really means, he sneezes again and Lars is gone.


	5. Chameleon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about my english, in fact, the main reason i am writing this is to improve my english. I don’t think it is working.  
> I also promise to stop editing after i post ¬¬  
> I’ll update once a week.

That night he was saying nonsense and sweating cold, he dreamed of sailing again.  
Today, his dreams of freedom were not enough to fill his emptiness, it required a more turbulent energy.  
It required resentment.

No doctor had come to see him.

_Of course not... I have a maid to keep appearances, it is more than I deserve._

There was only Agatha, awake until morning with him, doing her duty.  
He was changing his mind about her. 

Hans was a little concerned about what he might have said in his delusional outbursts, but he remembered he already played all his cards before and lost.  
He is less than a throwaway, he doesn’t have more secrets she might use as a bribe or information trade, he was not worthy to be spied on and not even his life, the only thing he have left, was worthy something. 

_Why is she here, truly?_

Agatha had the impassive face of a tired woman.  
Perhaps she really was just a maid in need of a job.  
What else she could get from him?

_Revenge?_

He did some terrible things when working as his father gofer, but he didn’t leave any loose ends, nothing that could bite him back.

Lars advised to stay with her.  
Hans could only guess his brother was tired of keeping an eye on the black sheep for their mother and a _nanny_ would come in handy.  
He was still deciding what to do when the guards came to escort him to the royal stables farther from the castle.

__

_Out of sight. Out of mind._

__

He refused Agatha’s help with his clothes this time and left as if he were going to win a war.  
Their chat will have to wait.

__

The stables were waiting for him like a bad omen.  
That place is never clean for long.  
Prince Hans starts his daily castigation with the only task he really enjoys doing there.  
Brushing the horses takes him back to his early years with Sitron, to afternoons on the wet grass, to the excitement of his first riding lessons.

__

He couldn't say that he liked these particulars horses very much, though, he had the impression that they made fun of him from time to time.  
Hans had noticed this at least once, when a giant snowball — _he knows very well where it came from!_ — pummeled him two years ago.

__

Furthermore, they were his brothers' spare horses, they must have been contaminated by their character.  
And one the reasons why they would go often to the stables. 

__

His ninth brother, Emil and his stupid goatee, accompanied by the twins, arrived with their fjord horses from the castle’s road.

__

Emil was less of a brute than his other brothers, the official silver-tongued royal architect, who could pretend to be a gentleman when necessary.  
He was one of the brothers that prefer to not acknowledge Hans existence, rarely speaking to him.  
However, when he does, the poison is between the lines.

__

“ _Hansel_ , we could smell you from miles away! ” Emil smooths his goatee. “ I came here to secure old Angus at the stables and the twins… Well, they have no reason to be here, they only thought it would be funny. ”

__

Hans straightens his spine and approaches his brothers with his hands clasped behind his back, a posture he adopted as a shield.  
The twins were expecting a show.

__

“ So, little brother found a place where he belongs! ” Emil pats his horse, while dismounting. “ No, no, Angus! I didn’t mean to offend you! ”

__

The youngest prince clenched his fists behind his back.

__

_They can’t hurt you. They can’t hurt you._

__

“ Indeed, I do prefer the company of these noble animals to yours, my brother. ” Hans says impassible. “ They also have brighter conversations. ”

__

“ It takes a beast to understand another. ” Emil scoffs, going to the stall to get another horse.

__

_That explains why you are hanging out with the twins._

__

Runo and Rudi circles Hans after their brother left, with their arms crossed.  
Pale eyes full of scorn. Vicious smiles looking like a shark’s mouth.  
They stand on each side of Hans, with their noses very close to his ears.  
He could feel their breathing.

__

“ Did you hear that _Stinker?_ Maybe you can find a wife among them! ” Runo jeers.

__

_Return the provocation, don't let them see you sweat, act like a mirror._

__

“ Ironic, since you haven't married yet. I am an iniquitous man, what is your excuse? ” Hans kept his face still.

__

Runo doesn't answer, he didn't know what “ iniquitous ” meant.  
His blonde brother is the dumbest of the princes.

__

Hans didn't use to talk back to his brothers before, it would only incite them more.  
There would also be repercussions later, and for what?  
So he always held his tongue. Always a pushover.  
It was easier that way.

__

But now days he had nothing more to lose.  
After the Arendelle fiasco, Hans knew he had become as revolting as his brothers, but that didn't matter anymore.  
At this moment, it felt _good_ to return the insults.  
A man has to hold on to something.

__

_To. get. a. grip._

“ Oooh, _mamma's boy_ is very talkative today! Is it because you are finally a king of our own castle? ” Rudi derided, hurriedly getting behind Hans. " Hail to the King! "

__

“ It suits you more than Arendelle, _Stinker!_ ” Runo sneered.

__

Rudi brutally push Hans to the front, Runo uses his foot to make him trip over.  
He didn't have time to react, his illness compromised his nimbleness.  
He stumbles to the dirty ground, his face covered with mud… and something else.

__

“ There is your crown, King of dung! ” they say in unison.

__

The twins laughs out, supporting each other. The horses seem to laugh.  
The soldiers definitely laughs a little at the gate.

__

_Nobody laughed in Arendelle, when I had a sword in my hands._

Emil comes back, riding a new stallion.  
He shakes his head, not bothering to look at his younger sibling on the mud.

“ Boys, boys, we’ll be late for luncheon meat. ” Emil lets out a humorless laugh. “ I can’t believe we are related. ”

That enrages Hans inside, he feels like taking a pound of mud in his hands and throwing it at Emil’s snobbish face, but he restrains himself.  
It was a lost fight, since he was born.

__

His brothers leave without looking back.  
They were done with the laughingstock for today.

__

_That could have been worse._

__

Hans grits his teeth, placing an elbow on his bent knee to get up.  
He can swear that Angus is still laughing at him.

__

“ Who wants to run out of oats today? ” he threatens, glancing.

__

The horse shuts up instantly.

__

Hans waits for the laughs to fade away and goes to the horse's water trough.  
He cleans himself by pouring buckets of water over his head.  
After waiting for the water to wash down his face, he opens his eyes.

__

“ Aahh! ” Hans lets out a little cry.

__

“ I’m sorry, Your Highness, I didn’t mean to scare you. ” Agatha backs foot, bowing quickly.

__

“ I am not scared. ” — _Mice get scared._ — “ I didn't expect to see you here... How did you pass the guards? ”

__

“ They didn’t ask me many questions. ” she shrugs, squeezing a basket in her hands. “ Not even the royals princes did.”

__

_And why would they?_

__

Hans can picture her being duly ignored as the rabble she was. Lucky girl.  
His family was smart enough to treat servers with minimal respect and maximum control, after all, you don't want to turn the person who makes your food an enemy, but you also need to stop them from doing so.

__

They were very strict, having an iron grip on every person who worked for them, whether out of fear, bribery or false respect.  
The lower you were in the hierarchy of employees, the worse your treatment was.  
Hans still doesn't know what grip they had on Agatha.

__

His brothers did not give the servants the same kind of attention they did to him, but they believed they were superior.  
It was the birthright of the nobility to be served, and the birthright duty of the subjects to serve.

__

Hans did not agree with this view.  
His own birthright only guaranteed him a life of misery that made him cynical and spiteful.  
It was just a mean of controlling the masses, to put everyone in their places and never let them be free.

__

“ My lord, are you alright? ” there were concern in her big eyes.

__

She saw his _interaction_ with the other princes.  
Hans didn't need a witness to his daily humiliation, not that he cared, but he really didn't want to answer questions he doesn't know the answer for, like "why do you accept this?" or "why do they do that?" and so on.

__

In true, he had an image to maintain, not in front of the soldiers, but at least in front of the common people.  
She would gossip around about how weak he is, how his brother makes him a plaything, and soon he will lose the little fear that people feel for him.  
And then they would feel nothing but despise.

__

Now was the perfect time to dismiss her and see how she reacts.  
He was about to do it, when he sniffed a delicious, familiar smell.

__

“ What are you carrying? ” he looks at the basket.

__

“ The reason why I am here, sir. ” she smiles. “ I baked you a peach pie! ”

__

“ Who told you to do this? ” he pass his hands through his wet hair, combing it with his long fingers.

__

“ No one, my lord, I thought you could use some food to recover your strength. ”  


__

_Riiigth, just smile, Hans._

__

“ Thank you Agatha, come over here. ” he beams, walking away and gesturing her to follow him.

__

Agatha did not seem to be waiting for gratefulness, what offended him a little bit.  
Even though the gratitude were not sincere, he still has good manners!

__

Hans walks around the establishment to a place a little farther from the horses where there was a large tree trunk under the shade of an oak tree, still in sight of the sentries, which served as a seat when he wanted to catch his breath.  
Hans sits down on the trunk, his hours of rest were limited and even though he hated the landscape, he was able to find some contentment there.

__

Agatha crouches in her hunches and takes a pie out of the basket, she cuts it and places it on a simple porcelain plate, approaching Hans as if he were a wounded animal to give him the pie as an offer of peace.

__

Hans accepts the plate, takes his gloves off and pats the surface of the trunk, signaling Agatha to sit beside him.  
Without disguising a confused face, she obeys him, resting the basket on her knees.

__

“ Take a piece for yourself. ” Hans says in the most affable voice he can muster. “ I'm tired of eating alone. ”

__

He was not going to eat that!  
Not before he was sure it was safe.

__

“ I-it is not appropriate, my lord. ” Agatha twist her grip on the basket handle.

__

__

" I say it is, Agatha. ” he takes the basket from her lap and gives her his plate with the pie. “ I bet you didn't have breakfast. ”

__

Hans lets his eyes lingers on hers, so she knows he is not going to eat before her.

__

_Be kind, charming. Use her name._

__

_Earn her trust._

__

_And you’ll find if you can use this woman._

__

If Agatha herself poisoned the pie, he’ll find out, if someone else poisoned it, he’ll also find out.

He was very cautious in the first year of his punishment, going for days without food.  
Only when his mother and Lars came to personally guarantee that they would provide royal tasters to take care of his meals, he went back to eating normally.  
Not because he trusted them that much, but because he really was starving.

He can't imagine, exactly, why his father have not arranged him an _accident_ yet.  
Maybe he was taking his time to not arouse suspicion.  
Hans would not make it easy for him.

Agatha reluctantly takes a piece of pie with her hands, when she opens her mouth to bite it, she glances at Hans, waiting for his consent.  
He nods, indicating that she could go on.  
She takes a bite and smiles happily, showing teeth covered with pieces of peach.

The prince places the basket between his feet and slowly picks up another plate of pie, giving Agatha time to eat some more.  
She tilts her head to him, questioning if he wasn’t going to eat too.

__

_Any self-respecting poison would have already taken effect._

__

While he eats, Hans began to imitate Agatha's mannerisms in a subtle way.  
How she holds her fork, the rhythm of her chews, the posture she's sitting in.  
A mirror studying a reflection.

__

_It is superb!_

__

“ It is delicious, Agatha! Where did you learn this recipe? ” he pass her a napkin from the basket.

__

The same recipe from his childhood.  
Lada was the only one who knew what his favorite dessert was, she must have told Agatha to get her into his good side, as a resource in case he gives her a hard time.

__

“ Oh, I told Lada you needed to recover your strength and s-she suggested… ” Agatha struggles, like she is thinking about what to say.

__

Thinking better about it, Lada would never suggest such a thing, she doesn’t think he deserves any pies and it would remind her of the sweet, little boy he used to be and the nefarious man he became.

__

“ Did she told you it is my favorite dessert? ” Hans asks, pretending to be moved.

__

“ S-she did, my lord. ” Agatha uses the napkin on her mouth as an excuse to stop talking.

__

_She is lying... Why is she lying about something like this?_

__

“ I think I’ll go to the kitchens later, to thank her personally. ” Hans smiles.

__

“ No- no need of that, Your Highness, I’ll pass the message for her, the kitchen is not a place for a prince and… ” she sounds panicked.

__

“ The stables are not either and yet, here I am! ” he winks at her. “ Don’t tell you master what to do, Agatha. ”

__

“ Forgive me, my lord. ” Agatha fidgets the napkin on her hands.

“ Well, you are doing a great job, I feel better already. ” he plays with his food, not looking at her. “ I don’t need your services anymore. ”

There, let’s see how she tries to change his mind.  
If she chooses to leave, no big deal, he was fine without a maid anyway.  
His fever was nothing, he is a tough guy, he was once buried under ten pounds of freezing snow and he was fine later.

“ That would be rash, sir. ” she leans in, maintaining a respectful distance. “ Last night you were delirious, saying very strange, _dangerous_ things. ”

“ What did I say? ” he keeps eating his pie nonchalantly to mask his apprehension.

__

“ Prince Lars wanting to dethrone Prince Caleb.” Agatha whispers, covering her mouth with one hand and holding the napkin tighter with the other. “ How he could do it by organizing a coup, how the islands were doomed, how Your Highness would like to sail away. ”

__

_Oh, Hans you idiot!_

__

“ My dear, it was just the rambling of a madman with fever, you don’t want to give people any ideas, do you? ” he smiles innocently, convincing enough.

__

“ No, sir, I don’t. ” she measures her words carefully. “ His Majesty is know to be intolerable with... such rumors. ”

__

And who would listen to her?  
She is just a maid… But what if someone more important personally had listened to it?  
He looks at the sentinels, in the distance.

__

His shared blood would not be enough to protect him.  
It doesn’t matter if it is true or from where the idea came from, it would spread like a wild fire.  
And if Lars really is plotting something, this could either help his brother with a plan or denounce him, depending on who listened to it.

__

“ Can you see how much trouble I am saving you by dismissing you? ” he packs the basket and holds to her, waiting. “ You should be glad. ”

__

Always end a conversation on the good side.  
He was firing her and keeping the impression he was doing her a favor.

__

“ I’m not being forced to be your serf, my lord, as I told you before. ” she grabs the basket, her shoulders slumps. “ Please, accept me like your maid, at least until you fully recover!

__

“ Agatha, what reasons you could possibly have to serve a disgraced prince? ” he glowers at her, putting his gloves on.

__

_Do you like to fix pretty broken things? That is why you want to help poor Prince Hans?_

__

Hans didn’t need a peasant's pity!  
He is his own man, facing his fate, not a pitiful runt, he is a...  


_No, no, stop with that._

His hubris condemned him before. Not again.  
She pities him, worse for her, she’ll regret it.

" I... I want to learn how to serve a nobleman formally and nobody gave me a chance to do so. I don’t have the necessary skills to be an apprentice. " Agatha puts the empty plates inside the basket. " But if I do a good job here, I'll get a royal recommendation from the castle steward, then, I can work anywhere I want. "

__

It was time to admit that years of abuse and isolation made him paranoid, — _It also made him survive._ — her explanation was convenient, it explained her presence, her willingness, her bravery in dealing with him, however, there is more to this story.

__

Where is she from? What was she doing at the Southern isles? Why she wants to leave? 

__

Too many questions that would demand too much of his time, and the answers could be as valuable as a nest of rats.

__

But Lars suggested keeping her close.  
His brother realized that the girl was willing to do whatever it took to please, and he could exploit it.

__

“ Do you think this will open doors for you? ” he gets up and looks down at her, the wind gets stronger.

If she was pretending, she was better at it than he was, wich was impossible.  
Either way, the game has changed.

__

“ Please, sir, if I fail at this assignment, I can't go back to work at the castle! ” The wind had ruffled a lock of her hair out of the small maid’s cap. “ I need that recommendation, it is the closest I’ll get to freedom. ”

__

He really didn’t care, but he could relate.  
True freedom does not exist and most people don't realize it or care about it.  
What exists is true imprisonment, whether by ideas, circumstances, morals or whatever prevents you from doing whatever you really want to do.  
Hans has been a prisoner long before Arendelle.

Freedom, as much as you can have it, is not to be taken for granted, it must be earned it.

“ If we are going to work together for some time, we need to trust each other, you should do what I tell you without question. ” he approaches her and ties up the knot at her cap a little harder.

__

The prince had made up his mind.  
He'll have to take some risks and to not waste any opportunities, even if the situation does not present itself as such.

__

" Wha… what am I supposed to do, sir? " she hugs herself.

__

“ No questions, Agatha. ” he smiles and walks the path back to the stables, leaving her behind.

__

She was allowed to leave the castle, if necessary.  
Agatha could become one of his scarce contacts with the outside world, besides Lars and the occasional newspapers.  
His others siblings visits didn’t count, they just tormented him.  
It is only temporary, anyway.

__

Hans decided to let her clean his chambers and empty his potty for a while.  
He decided to use her like a little spy too, servants hears all kind of conversations, without nobody paying attention to them.  
Nothing too dangerous or one wrong move, and he could end up without a maid and without a head sooner than later.

__

For what more he could use her for?  
He’ll not trust her with anything else.

Furthermore, who knows what the future holds?  
He had nothing to lose.

__

_Oh, right... I have a little minion now._

__

This should be fun.

****************************************************************************************

If Agatha had to admit something to herself, it would be that Prince Hans makes her nervous.

Perhaps being the serf of an immoral, unstable prince was not the best idea she has ever had.  
She didn’t poison him, — _yes, she noticed the thing with the pie._ — she took care of his fever, she didn’t tell anyone about his delirious confessions, however Hans still doesn’t trust her… It was too soon.

Her lying to him didn't help either, but what could she do?  
Telling him the truth would make him think she was crazy.  
Nobody likes crazy.  
And she definitely couldn't tell him the _whole_ truth.

No, she didn't regret it, she had decided to give him a chance.  
A chance for what, she still didn't know.

She had stayed up all night again tending to him with teas and cold compresses, until he fell asleep.  
Agatha slept at the floor, resting by the bedpost.

She didn’t get much rest.

“ Mom, where are you…? ” Hans voice was low.

He is agitated, talking in his sleep.  
She quietly leans over him, washing a cloth in the basin over the nightstand and dabbing on his face.

“ Shh, it is okay, I am here. ” she croons.

“ I- I’m sorry, Anna… ” Hans rolls over in bed.

That name, she is familiar with that name.  
He is dreaming about Arendelle.

“ Elsa… stop... ” his voice falters, wheezing.

__

Hans spoke those name before, in his delirious state.  
They were always followed by a request for forgiveness or a shout of rage.  
The guilt he would never admit was devouring him inside.

__

“ Be careful, my prince, or there will be nothing left of you. ” she gently moves his locks away from his wet forehead.

__

She cups both her hands on his face and closes her eyes.  
A purple gleam irradiates from her fingers and Hans breathes evenly, he is back to sleeping soundly.

_A peaceful sleep is essential to a good recovery, from body and soul._

She covers him with the sheets and prepares to accommodate herself in the armchair.  
When a glint from above catches her eye.  
Floating from the bed's ceiling, something shiny falls on Hans lap.

__

A single snowflake.

__

It melts away before Agatha can touch it.  
The magic was showing her a connection.  
She drifts back to sleep, trying to figure out what that meant.

__

In the morning she was exhausted, Prince Hans looked better, but he was still very ill to the point that he couldn't get up.  
His mind was fully aware, though.

__

He made her memorize a list of random questions she should ask around the castle during her cleaning duties.

__

“ They are too busy to pay me a visit and I’m worried about them. ” he told her, with his wolfish smile. “ I am sure you understand, don’t think too much about it. ”

__

It was all questions about his family.  
She wasn’t dumb, he wanted her to find out what they were up to.  
But she had no idea how he would use the information.

__

Agatha was not happy, but she had chosen to be there, practically begged Lada to be there.  
She thought it was better to not make a big deal of it and obeyed him.  
Or tried to.

__

By the end of the day, she brought him a tray with a bottle of wine.  
He was reading in the armchair, visible excited to see her.

__

“ So, what did you find out today? ” he lowers his book, a treaty of laws, she noted.

__

She got nervous.  
She should be providing him with an excellent service, so he could value and trust her, but she was unable to perform a simple task.  
Agatha was shy and had no idea how to make questions in an indirect way on casual conversations. 

__

And that made her anxious, and that made people annoyed, and that ending with them avoiding her.

__

Seeing her hesitation, he throws his book away and heads to her while she puts the tray on a table.

__

“ You… did find out something, right? ” he sounds calm.

__

Agatha can feel his body heat, whether it was his fever or his anger, she can't tell.  
She was sure he was disguising the last one, at least.

__

“ I am not comfortable spying on your brothers, my lord. ” she fidgets her fingers, averting his gaze.

“ I just want to know how they are doing. ” he smiles, making a small frown and lightly holding her shoulders to make her face him. “ You are not _spying_ on them! " 

The doors chambers storms out.

“ Hans, stop spying on us! ” Lars shouts.

“ That didn’t last long, did it? ” Hans scowls, dropping his hands.

“ What do you think you’re doing, forcing making the poor girl to run around the castle making such inquiries? ” Lars is like a hurricane in the room.

“ She was supposed to be discreet.” Hans gives Agatha a death glare while heading to the table with the wine.

“ She is a maid, not a spy! ” Lars turns to Agatha, who was almost sneaking away. “ You stay, this is about you too.”

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm doing!_

__

“ Being incarcerated prevents me from receiving news about our beloved family. ” Hans fills two goblets, holding Lars the other one. “ I am worried.”

__

“ Oh, please! You’re hardly incarcerated, mostly because mother and I begged father to not do it. ” Lars takes the goblet and gives it to Agatha without looking at either.

__

“ You love to shove up at my face how much I own you. ” Hans sips his wine, looking scornly at the windowless walls.

__

"That's not ..." Lars pinches the bridge of his nose, above his glasses. “ Look, you made a maid ask private questions, for example, how is our brother Viggo's wedding or how good our nephews are in geography, don't you think our brothers would imagine you are up to something and be, I don't know, angry? "

__

“ I have to use what is at my disposal, otherwise how I'll ever get a leverage to change my situation? ” Hans toasts in the air.

__

The younger prince was behaving like a petulant child who was caught being naughty.  
For what Agatha knew of him, he believes life requires him to be a different man every five minutes.  
She also noticed he can’t face his older brother for long.

__

“ Your situation can only change for worse, brother. ” Lars clasps his hands behind his back, much like Hans usually does. “ Agatha, you work for me now, you don’t take orders from Prince Hans and have to report me of his every move! Fail and the consequences will be dire. ”

__

“ Oh, it almost sounds like i am someone important.” Hans flouts. “ Wouldn't be easier just to send my maid away? ”

__

Was this part of his plan all along?  
To see if she could be useful or not before making her dismissal not his fault, although, it certainly would be?

__

" Yes, but you forgot how our clan is a flock of paranoid lunatics, including me! I'll never let you do something stupid again. ” Lars leaves, slamming the door.

__

A small frame of a ship hanging dangerously on the walls next to the door crashes to the floor.  
They both ignored it.

__

Agatha puts the goblet on the table and recalls a vision with the princes when she was cleaning the library a few days ago.  
It was about their plan for Arendelle.

__

Lars blames himself.  
He blames himself for giving Hans the idea of traveling to Arendelle to marry the queen.  
He blames himself for having given him dreams.

__

The prince glares at his goblet, hypnotized by his own reflection on the liquid contained.  
Agatha can hear Hans's controlled breathing, he is deep in thought.  
She doesn't disturb him, she also won't leave until he orders her.

__

“ Sorry, Agatha, it seems i can’t get rid of you anymore. “ Hans sighs with hindered annoyance.

__

“ What does it mean? ” she recoils as he stares at her.

__

“ It means… You are now as much as a prisoner as I am. ” he grins.


	6. Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( Is the black eye too violent for a Disney movie? )  
> Time to speed up the pace... Visualizing a movie is different from writing it.  
> P.S: i regret everything.

Hans shut her out since Lars made her his watchdog.  
He was still polite, but definitely not docile.

His likely pneumonia had finally been cured, which while it made Agatha more relieved, also made her less useful to him.

He probably thinks she wants that royal recommendation and would do whatever Prince Lars ordered her to do.  
Which she kind of does, otherwise, she'll be sent away.

Lars moved her to a small room reserved for personal serfs, next to Hans chambers.  
It was a pleasant improvement over the oppressive servant's quarters, however, there was nothing for her to do when she was there.  
No books or whatever.

Her replacement made the other servants resentful, treating her with disdain.  
They also didn't like her previous poor attempt to question them about their rulers at Hans behest.

_" Should we use lavender soap on the towels? By the way, Prince Caleb has offended any dignitaries lately? "_

After that, Agatha could grasp the whirs in the halls, whirs that would cease after she gets in sight.  
Gossip about her being too ambitious, wanting to gain some kind of favor from the royals by doing something unscrupulous as serving the Great Shame.  
Lada forsaken her too, talking to her exclusively about chores-related matters.

Was that what Hans meant, when he said she also had become a prisoner?  
Their rooms were very close and somehow she could hear him trough the walls, pacing around his chamber, awake all night, doing who knows what.  
He is obviously frustrated because he wanted to use her and then discard her, but his plan backfired and now she has to be his shadow.

In fact, Hans using her like that didn’t make sense.  
He had talked to her, he knew she was socially inept.  
And the way he told her to collect information discreetly was very... amateurish.

_I mean… Just ask around? Really?_

She was so curious that the question escapes her in a morning, while she served his breakfast on a table in his chambers before the stables' duty.

“ Your Highness, forgive my boldness, b-but… ” she bites her bottom lip, pouring coffee in the china cup. “ Why did you gave me a mission you knew i would fail at? ” 

He raises her an eyebrow, slightly surprised by her being able to figure that out.  
Maybe because of that he decides to indulge her.

“ If you had succeeded, I would have known you were a farce, If you had failed, not a great loss, no offense… ” he holds the cup with the saucer delicately, blowing on his coffee. “ You would be sent away eventually, at any rather, I would be freed of another pair of eyes on me. ”

“ Y- you could have dismissed me yourself, my lord. ” she offers him a plate with chopped fruits and biscuits.

“ I needed to know how trustworthy you were before I did that. ” he drinks his coffee, not deviating his attention from it.

“ Because... because of what I heard you saying about your brother. ” she says in a low voice.

He was protecting Lars! In a way that would not involve her _permanent disposal._

Hans moves his index finger in front of his lips, and then winks at her.

“ Not exactly, I took a risk... ” he puts a napkin on his lap and reaches for a biscuit. “ Too bad I didn't predict you would fail that _hard_ and be stuck with me. ” 

“ Your Highness, I’m not _stuck._ ” she twists the edge of her apron. “ I can leave. ” 

“ Can you? ” he smiles, a challenge in his features. “ Good, I’m not fond to share my hours with strangers whose intentions I can’t tell. ”

Agatha could say the same thing.  
She knows his past, now she often catches herself thinking about his future.  
No one stays the same forever.

“ Sir, I’m just an orphan who came from Blavenia looking for a better life. ” she doesn’t hesitate with the words, because it was partially true. “ I am sorry I became such a bother. ”

“ No, you became another chain with which I locked myself by mistake. ” he throws his napkin on the table and stands up. “ It is not your fault, it is _mine._ ”

And that was all the conversation they had.  
Soon the guards came to take him away.

******************************************************************************************************************

Her routine is summed around the spare prince, his chambers, his grimy clothes, his food.  
Their daily actions became mechanical like a clock.  
Hans doesn't work until dawn anymore, someone doesn't want him to be sick again or maybe just want him to stay locked up for longer.

Either way, every night Agatha accompany him to his chambers, only to have a door shut at her face.

That night...  
_Blam!_  
Shut door.

The next night...  
_Blam!_  
Shut door.

The night after that...  
_Blam!_  
Shut door.

She knocks at the door every time, only to hear Hans muffled voice says the same phrase every time.

“ I don’t need anything. Good night. ”

She then crawls to her bedroom, crushed.

Agatha got lonely.

She had been lonely for great part of her life like Hans had been too.  
Pondering again, she didn't see him with a single friend in all her ghostly visions, apart from Sitron.

She never had a friend before either.  
Oh, her brother! She remembers playing with a faceless boy in happier days, long gone.

Maybe Prince Hans just needed a friend.  
He was clearly a broken person, with almost no happy memories.  
Nobody deserved that, regardless of their past.  
They could be friends.

_Why would he want to be friends with someone like me?_

She is a simpleton peasant with nothing to offer.  
Hans lives in a cruel world where nothing is given freely.  
He doesn't believe in friendships.

_I’m following the magic, but I’m getting lost!_

Agatha doesn’t know what to do.  
The Ice Queen, the Great Shame, the Mirror Prince.  
Those stories formed a circle with magic at the center of it.

Where did she fit in?

She focuses her mind on more present subjects.  
The time to report to Prince Lars was approaching, once a week she’ll have to describe Hans steps.

What could she says that the sentinels who guarded him couldn't?  
A feminine perspective?  
She have nothing to report anyway, Hans is in no position to do anything.

The other princes, however...  
It didn't take her long to experience first hand what Hans had to deal all his life.

That night he was very tired, returning to his room after a particular hard day of work, when she noticed his door wasn’t completely closed as she had left before.  
She sees the bucket balancing precariously between the door frame and the threshold and acts by instinct, pushing Hans out of the way the instant the bucket falls... over her head.

Agatha is completely covered with a green sludge.

Prince Hans gaped at her, he didn't expect that.  
He quickly recovers himself when he notices the smell of rotten egg that has invaded the air.

“ Do… do I have your permission to retire, sir? ” she spreads her arms wide to not touch in anything.

Hans and his escort were making a disgusted grimace, covering their nose with their fingers.

“ Please, do that. ” he responds with a nasal voice, holding his breath.

Agatha took three baths, not amused.

The following morning, Hans went to his bookcase to read something before going to the stables, ignoring Agatha, who was still cleaning his bedroom.  
When he opened his favorite book, a mysterious dust poofed out.

He drops the book to scratches himself frantically, throwing himself to the floor.  
Agatha panicked and picked up the vase of daisies from the table, splashing it on Hans face. 

He spit a flower, not amused.

In the afternoon, they were walking to the castle by the road from the small hill that passed by a shallow lake.

A pebble flew from nowhere and almost hit Hans, who dodged it.  
The next one hit Agatha on the back, making her balance on her tiptoes, so she wouldn't fall forward.

Hans sighs and holds her by the long skirt, but he underestimates her weight, and she falls forward, dragging a surprised prince with her down the hill.

They roll down the slope through the grass until one last bounce makes them dive into the lake.  
They hear laughter from a distance. A frog unexplainable landed on the top of her head, it eats a random fly and croaks.

" Let's never talk about this. " Hans snarls.

They were not amused.

Night falls.  
Hans and Agatha glances at each other in front of his door chambers.  
Even the soldiers step back.

Hans slowly opens the door and remains at it side.  
They both peek inside, and he motions Agatha to enter.  
She hesitantly walks in.  
Not seeing anything suspicious, she goes to the wardrobe to grab Hans nightgown.

“ Wait… ” Hans advances.

Before he can finish the sentence, Agatha opens the wardrobe.  
A pack of snakes jumps on top of her.

“ AAAaaah! My god! ” the snakes get entangled over her body.

She is overthrown on the floor, rolling with them.

“ Why do i pay you for? ” Hans throws his arms to the air, addressing his guards.

There are snakes escaping to the hall between their legs.

“ You don’t. ” the soldier says. “ Your royal father does. ” 

“ Oh, yes... Fair enough. ” he shrugs.

A tiny snake makes its way to curls around Hans neck, getting comfy.

“ Eeeek! ” Agatha is still on the floor, fighting for her life.

“ Relax, Agatha, they are not venomous. ” Hans lifts his leg so as not to step on the snakes attacking his boots. “ I think so. ”

Agatha grips the neck of a snake that is trying to bite her eye.  
Eventually, she manages to get out of the room looking like Medusa.

Nobody was amused.

Agatha had seen this in her visions, there was always a prince of the Southern Isles with too much free time.  
And those soldiers, they really were there just to watch, not to protect.

She’ll have to report those ridiculous pranks to Prince Lars, knowing that there was nothing to be done about it.

Agatha could deal with this, she had been bullied before.  
It only made her sad and wondering why they did that.  
In time, she learned that bullies were generally troubled people with deep suffering who didn't know how to deal with themselves. Or just a bunch of idiots.

_I can forgive them._

What she cannot forgive is the black eye that Hans appeared at the next day.

She had gone to bring his lunch in a basket at the stables and found him in the big shed, feeding the horses.

Agatha hadn't noticed it at first, but when he bent down with the rake to pick up the hay and toss it inside the horse's stall, she had a clear view of his left black eye.

A hand involuntarily covered her mouth to hold a gasp.  
He looked at her with the corner of his eyes, not stopping his work.  
An abyss swallowed her.

“ I’m not hungry. ” his face bruised and indifferent. “ Go. ”

Agatha bows and leaves him alone.  
She strides to the sentinels at the stables gate, bracing herself to not be intimidated.

“ Excuse-me, what happened to Prince Hans? ” she tries to sound firm.

“ Ask him yourself. ” the sentinel holds his spear uneasy.

“ I will… I will have to report this to Prince Lars, you know. ” she lets the implications in the air, hoping to worry the soldiers.

“ Prince Franz came this morning. ” the other guard sighs. “ Lady, it really is none of our business. ”

She could only imagine what happened.

The hours drag on until it is time to return to the castle.  
Prince Hans was impassive, with his typical arrogant posture, but under his regale mask, under his black eye, he was ashamed.  
Ashamed of being hurt.

In the darkness of the keep's back path, no one questions the spare prince's bruises.  
Hans enters his quarters, preparing to close the door on Agatha's face, as he did every night.

Before he does that, she puts her foot on the doorjamb to keep it open, ignoring the pain and slipping into the room.

“ What is the meaning of this? ” Hans is still holding the door open, looking more tired than angry.

“ Forgive me, my lord. ” she passes him and locks herself in the chambers luxury marble suite. “ I'll take care of your injury. ”

She quickly opens the medicine cabinet and takes whatever supplies she can fit into her arms, dropping one thing or two in the hasty confusion.

“ Unnecessary and unrequested. ” Hans puts his hands on his hips, visibly offended by the intrusion or by the thought that he needs help. “ Leave. ”

“ With due respect, sir… ” Agatha gets out of the suite holding a bowl, bandages and a pot of aloe vera. “ I don’t take orders from you. ”

“ _Fine!_ If you are not leaving, I am! ” Hans moves to exit the door which is immediately blocked by the guards' spears, he turns his face away and steps back, indignant. “ Or maybe not… ”

“ I-it will only take a minute, Your Highness. ” she pulls him a chair, smiling.

Hans grunts, closing the door, he was too tired to protest any longer.  
With a sulky face, he sits at the chair, like an obedient brat.  
Agatha is trembling, she didn't think that would work.

Placing the bowl of water on the table, she wets the cloth to clean his wounds.  
Being extra careful, she moves his locks away, his hair a little longer these days.  
Hans hisses when she touches his black eye.

“ Apologies, sir. ” she whispers.

“ It was a reflex. ” he blinks. “ It doesn’t even hurt. ” 

Despite his words, at each movement of her, Hans recoils.  
She tenderly holds his chin in place, and he stiffens.  
Hans focuses his gaze somewhere in the room.  
Agatha has to make an effort to not drown in his green eyes.

“ You’ll get that recommendation in no time. ” he clears his throat. 

“ I don’t want it anymore, sir, here is where i want to be. ” she puts the aloe vera cream on his wounds with her fingers, tracing his features lightly.

“ Is my brother rewarding you that handsomely? ” he smiles smugly, but drops his gaze just a little. 

_Was that a hint of sadness?_

“ No, my lord, I… I don’t know what changed my mind. ” she begins to roll the bandages on his head, covering his left eye.

“ The ghastly salt’s aroma of the isles grows on you, doesn’t it? ” he chuckles, stifling a groan of pain.

“ Yes, sir, it does… ” she can't help but chuckle too.

He was talking to her like she was a real person.  
And he didn't seem to be scheming anything.  
A good sign, right?

**************************************************************************************************************************

It was already late at night when Prince Lars summoned her at his private office, more like a private library, in reality.  
The walls were large bookcases with an oak table in the center of the room, covered with old maps and charts.  
Lars was leaning against it with a book in his hand, asking daily questions about Hans's week, just looking up at her when she mentioned the pranks.

“ I am sorry about that, it's not my brothers aim to hurt you, they just don't care. ” he lower his glasses at her. “ I will understand if you are no longer interested in the job. ” 

The Westergaard's seems to be people with exposed souls who could not resist the life situations that made them in damaged human beings.  
At least one of them is still resisting.

“ N-no, Your Highness! I find the challenge... challenging! ” she was at the brink of a breakdown.

“ Yes, everything about Hans is a challenge, like the simple action of getting him a maid. ” he puts his glasses back, holding his gaze on her. “ You know, I heard about his… incident. ”

_He means Hans black eye._

“ I don’t know how that happened, my lord ” Agatha fidgets her hands.

“ The survival of the fittest. The motto of the Southern Isles. ” Lars closes his book and walks to a bookcase. “ A cruel, cannibal claim that didn't have to be true, but that is how is ever been, for years. ”

He says these words as if they explain everything.  
And somehow they do.

“ This is not a place for a kind soul. ” he studies the bookcase until he finds the right spot for his book. “ I know of other, easier ways to get a royal recommendation, my dear. ”

Agatha swallows hard, she doesn’t know how long she will be able to keep lying. The best way to end it was being honest.

" I-I want to do what I am doing, sir. " she hugs herself, wanting some kind of comfort. “ No one else would, my lord knows how difficult Prince Hans can be. "

It was his words, from when she first met him.  
For some reason, this seems to satisfy Prince Lars... Perhaps because it was true.  
He nods and dismisses her.

After months living in the South isles, she learned that Prince Lars was reputed to be the most decent of the Westergaard's princes, a reclusive intellectual, a patriot of the arts and relative well liked by the people.  
His popular support was not only greater than Prince Caleb, who played the role of a vigorous warrior, but most of the servants who dealt with him personally knew that he was a manchild.

In Hans past, even though being distant, Lars was the only brother who treated him with decency.

She didn't mind having mild anxiety attacks when she came to report to him.  
It was for Hans sake, even if Hans himself didn't think so.

The days went by, and Agatha finds herself enjoying her new life, even with the pranks, the ungrateful work, the loneliness.

Hans seems to have finally accepted her as his maid, despite, at the same time, testing her patience.  
Agatha forgot how young he still is.

He purposely made her job difficult at times, like a spoiled little kid.  
Asking for elaborate dishes, criticizing her bed making, her cleaning methods, the way she tied his cravat, all while smiling mischievous, waiting for the point where she would eventually get mad at him.  
She could see the traces of the boy he used to be when he did that.

Agatha clings to small bubbles of happiness as when Hans genuinely thanked her after she removed his bandages one last time, revealing his perfect healed eye.  
When he invited her to sit at the table with him for breakfast, because he heard the loud noise in her stomach.  
Or when his features shone with longing for the distant ships at sea that he could see from the castle road.

It saddened her that she will have to leave if she doesn't find out why the magic called her here.  
There have been no more visions since the day she decided to be Hans maid.  
Agatha needed guidance, she had her own quest.  
Everything comes to an end, inevitably.


	7. The Two Princes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapters escaped the vision I had, I'm getting back on track ( I edit a lot, sorry ).  
> This fic gives me a bad 90's Disney movie vibe.  
> ( Does anyone else miss songs like Hellfire? )

_“ To Your Majesty, Queen Anna of Arendelle._

_It has come to my attention that our honorable queen has found what she believes it is true love (again).  
I also heard that your crazy sister ran away to some forest to play fairy. I wish all the prosperity that will come to an abandoned kingdom led by a naive girl and an ignorant simpleton.  
In addition to expressing my felicitations, I request an official pardon. After all, I did far less damage to Arendelle than any of you.  
By the way, you can all kiss my — "_

“ Aargh! This is pointless! ” he snarls. 

Hans crumples the letter and throws it back.  
The paper falls to the floor, among dozens of other drafts that the prince had spent the night writing on his desk.  
When he got so bad at this?  
He dips the quill in the ink again.

" How can I convince her? " he asks himself. 

__" By being honest? " Agatha responds._ _

__Hans jumps out of his chair.  
His maid was right there, with his letter in her hands.  
One of his biggest flaws is that Hans lets his guard down when he is focused on reading or writing. _ _

__" This is private, my dear. " he snatches the letter from her, using an offended face to cover his alarm. " Did you know that reading other people's correspondence is rude... and illegal? "_ _

__This will stop her from telling Lars.  
The fact that it was not technically a correspondence was a mere detail._ _

__" Pardon, my lord. " Agatha lowers her head._ _

__He knew that the rest of the castle team considered the Great Shame's personal servant an outcast, they hated her by association... There was no one for her to tell how low the mad prince stepped, trying to write empty excuses for a royal parole._ _

__" ... Just knock before entering. " he hides his irritation, picking up the crumpled papers and throwing them in the copper wastebasket._ _

__" I- I did, sir, and I heard your voice and… Sorry. " she bites her bottom lip. " I'm going to clean this up. "_ _

__" No need. " he replied, a little too quickly. " See, I'm done. "_ _

__" Then, let me throw this out for Your Highness. " Agatha raises her hands to pick up the copper wastebasket from him. ._ _

He dodges her.  
That was embarrassing evidence of Hans's desperation, he would never let anyone see it.  
Not even a simple servant whose opinion did not matter.

__" I’ll do it myself, thank you. " he smiled, promptly carrying the wastebasket in his hands and emptying it in the brazier next to the table._ _

__A great flame rose high, scorching his pretty face like coal.  
Hans had forgotten that the ink he used is highly flammable.  
Agatha's eyes widened, his cravat burning with a small fire._ _

__" I would like a bath now. " he continued to smile, unmoved._ _

*************************************************************** 

__After his bath, Prince Hans goes to the stables and works thoughtfully, brooding over his past mistakes.  
Not that he was trying to forget his awkward moment this morning, he just had a lot to think about._ _

Like why he bothered to write to Anna.  
He thought her marriage some months ago would have left her in a good mood, a pious mood…  
As if.

__The letter was a bad idea anyway, it would never have reached Arendelle.  
And even if he begged, even if he felt remorse, which he doesn't, he would never be forgiven.  
Forgiveness is not his way out of this.  
But cleaning manure was driving him insane! He almost wishes for another punishment, any other. __

_Be careful what you wish for._

___Years ago, King Claus had made it clear that as soon as he returned from his diplomatic mission from Arendelle, he would become a nanny in the royal nursery of the castle, that was his reward for his loyalty.  
His nephews and nieces were not yet as terrible as their parents, however, they were still smaller versions of his siblings._ _ _

___The older children went to study abroad, but the little ones were resigned to the nursery.  
He have more than ten nephews there, and he didn’t know the names of half of them.  
Luckily, he would never need to know.  
Nobody was crazy to let him get close to the kids._ _ _

___Yes, it is better not try to change things for now.  
Every time he does that, Hans thinks he has nothing left to lose… And then he loses something.  
On his own account._ _ _

___Lars haven’t visit him in weeks.  
Hans had never seen his brother so angry with him since he returned from Arendelle.  
Maybe when Agatha leaves for good he will come back.  
Or not, Lars was ultimately dissatisfied with him. ___

It is fine, Hans is used to be ignored by Lars too.

His maid will also get tired of her job soon, and he’ll be left utterly alone again, how it should been.  
He tried to make her quit sooner by testing her determination, and she simply didn't seem to mind, handling the heavy work without complain.

So Hans decided to accept her as one of the countless servants he has had over the years.

If she was still there, it was because Lars found her harmless and that meant there was nothing worth finding out about her.  
He treated her with respect anyway, after all, he considered himself a gentleman, at least with women whose kingdoms he wasn't trying to steal.

At the stables, after she brought him lunch, always with his favorite dessert, she helps to feed the horses or collect the hay while he still cleaned the manure, like today.  
Nobody told his guards a word against it, so they didn't care, they also wanted to go back to the castle as soon as possible.

This saves him a few hours from his punishment, hours he spends in his chambers, training his swordplay with a practice sword or sketching sea life.  
The bits of privacy he sacrificed while being served were worth it.

However, Hans feared he was getting soft.  
His life more tolerable since Agatha started working for him. 

The spare prince had no intention of remaining an accommodated prisoner forever and there was always the possibility of a new punishment.  
He needed to be prepared to overcome anything. 

The black eye Hans won thanks to Franz's short temper had delayed his schedule and the work had accumulated, since he had to shorten his hours at the stables to prevent an infection. 

The result was, that even with Agatha helping him, they were returning at the castle a little later than usual that week, when the moon was high above.  
The walk back was always like a funeral march.  
At least, this will be their last day doing late duty.

But this particular night was making him apprehensive.  
Before he could better define the eerie sensation, he heard the sound of metal hitting the ground. 

He drops the shovel.  
Agatha was filling a bucket with water at the spout for the horse's trough, she stops halfway.  
They both heard something. 

The prince and the maid runs at the same time to the stables gate and find the guards passed out, without their weapons. 

“ What happened to them? ” she gasps.

Hans looks around, they are too exposed.  
A dart hits his arm, he removes it, but it is too late.  
He can smell mandragora essence on it, a plant that makes you sleeps in seconds.  
The world starts to spin, he hears Agatha's voice shout his name.  
Hans babbles some nonsense before everything goes dark.

************************************************************

The prince wakes up dizzy and realizes there is a hood covering his entire head.  
He can feel he is lying on cold stone, his arms and legs are firmly tied.

Hans ignores the headache and tries to figure out the situation.  
He is not dead yet, so this is not about revenge.  
Unless his kidnappers wanted him to suffer first.

_A kidnapping of the throwaway prince! Who's dumb enough to do that?_

“ Why did you bring her? ” an angry voice puffs.

Voices echoes, Hans can hear heavy breathing and steps around him as well as little clangs of metal and dripping water.  
Six, seven people in a closed space, armed.  
Hans has already untied the rope from his hands without anyone noticing.

“ She saw me when I was tying him up! ” a thicker voice replies. “ The boss ordered no one to be hurt, I had to bring her! ” 

They sound like idiots, but that exchange did not bring Hans relief.  
The mandragora made him fuzzy, not fit to fight.  
Maybe he can talk this way out of this instead.

“ For the love of… Oh, he woke up! ” that voice Hans recognizes! 

“ What is going on? ” someone take his hood off. “ Lars?!? ” 

His older brother is crouched in front of him, a long green cloak covering his body.  
A muscular man with scars on his face with a small torch and a stern look awaits aside.  
They are at the end of a dark cave, badly lit by a few tiki torches attached on the stone ground.  
Hans can see four other men around, pirate men. 

“ Hans, you are fine! ” Lars smiles. “ Let me untie you! ” 

Agatha is by his left side, tied up and with a gag, but no hood.  
Her face is red as she had been crying.  
That is going to be another problem.

“ I already did. ” he answers, revealing his free hands. 

A sailor learns to untie knots easily, especially if he does it since his brothers tied him to trees almost every day when he was a boy.

“ Professionals these days… _Tsk._ ” Lars proceeds to untie his feet then. “ I guess I own you an explanation. ”

The younger prince rises, resting his hands on his knees to balanced himself.  
Lars gets to Agatha to remove her gag, whispering her a “ sorry ”.  
She doesn’t say a word.

“ A fake kidnapping. ” Hans mind cleared, the mandragora effect receding. “ _Is_ this a fake kidnapping? ”

“ Indeed, I staged your _abduction._ ” Lars corrects him, like it was important. “ With all the dangers that comes with it. ” 

The king considered any assault against the princes as an assault against himself, since his sons were all reflections of him in his mind.  
But not Hans, not the runt, not the black sheep.

However, everyone knew he was King Claus's son and that required action from his father, even if only as an example of what will happens to anyone who dared to antagonize the Westergaard clan.

Lars created a huge mess for them.

“ Do you need the ransom? ” Hans leans his back to the humid cave wall, crossing his arms.

_Father will not pay a penny for me._

“ I need you to play the victim. ” Lars takes a torch from one of the pirates. “ Gentlemen, can you give us a minute? Please, take the lady with you. ”

The strongest of the pirates pulls a dagger from its sheath and picks his teeth with it, making his disapproval clear with a grunt.  
He withdraws to the darkest corner of the cave, the other men and a worried Agatha follows him. 

“ Lovely friends you got there. ” Hans bends his knee back to place one of his foot on the wall.

_My family is not the only school of piranhas in the world...  
But I had become hard enough, their teeth will break when they try to eat me._

“ They are part of Captain Mama's crew, she owes me her life. " Lars attaches the torch in a stone's bundle on the ground, ignoring Hans sarcasm. “ And yes, she is a pirate. ”

_Ooh, this is getting better and better._

" We know how unprepared Caleb is to take the throne. " Lars rolls his cloak over his shoulder. " As long as our father lives, we can't do anything. " 

" He has many allies and connections, he has also kept the islands safe from war. " Hans sighs. " It will be all over with Caleb. "

Hans hate to admit it, but if his father was not a _benevolent_ king, he was certainly an _efficient_ one.  
And he was very good at staying alive and creating reasons for people to want him alive. There is problems, sure, especially in the economic and social departments, but it could be so much worse..  
And with Caleb it will be. 

“ I have been preparing for this... Listen, Blavenia is a strong nation that owes us a great debt. " Lars continues. “ I secured a deal with their King. ”

“You staged my abduction, they will pretend they saved me and by honor, our father will have to forgive part of such debt, as it is tradition. ” Hans places a hand on his chin, focused. 

“ You are correct. ” Lars seems pleased that his brother has followed his line of reasoning. “ In return, they will support me when the right time comes, when father is… gone. ”

Everything is clear.  
Hans is a disposable tool.  
Why else would Lars keeps the spare around?  


Hans has to admire his older brother's patience, he has waited years to make the throwaway prince useful for him.  
Does he think that just because he treated his little brother as a human being, he will do whatever he asks?

“ Father’s rage will fall on _me_ for becoming a damsel in distress. ” Hans loomed closer his brother, grinning with bitterness. “ Tell me, what do I get from this? ”

_Nothing is given freely._

" Let me see, to make our father a fool, for a chance to free yourself from Caleb's stupidity. " Lars doesn't flinch. “ ... And something to bribe me forever. ” 

It was true, Lars didn’t need to tell him his plans, he could have moved along with it anyway and Hans would never know what was really happening.  
By telling him his secrets, Lars subjected his life to Hans' will.

" What if I said no? " Hans averts his gaze. " Will I ever leave this cave? "

" I would never risk so much if it weren't to help you to have a future too. " Lars sounds deeply hurt, he steps back and adjusts his glasses.

“ Why tell me? ” Hans asks quietly.

“ To stage a play, the actors must know that they are participating in one. ” Lars stares at him. “ I want to guarantee nobody gets hurt. ”

“ Then, maybe you should not have dealt with pirates. ” Hans points a finger to the darkness behind Lars.

The big pirate with the scars emerges wielding a cutlass.  
The other five are on his side, also with swords in hand.  
They circles the princes menacingly.

" Captain Mama gave me her word, first mate. " Lars growls. 

" The captain's debt is hers alone, we are more about mutiny." the pirate smiles, showing yellow teeth. “ Why obey orders, when we can earn a fortune with ransom? " 

The princes let out a posh laugh together, making their best to look amused.  
When you don’t have control over a situation, you wear a facade and pretend to take control.

" The King will not pay a meager coin for me! ” Hans shrugs. “ As for Lars, you might get a decent sum, but King Claus will never let you enjoy the gold. " 

The pirates are closing their circle.  
The brothers stand back on back with a confident grin.  
Nobody will see them with fear. 

“ Oh, haven’t you heard? The mad prince ran away but we got him! ” a fat pirate with a bandanna croons. “ We are going to offer your head to Arendelle, not to _daddy._ ” 

Hans knows the direction that the rascal's talk is taking and doesn't like it.  
He assess his surroundings and like it even less.  
They are at the deepest tunnel of the cave.  
There is one exit and the pirates are blocking it. 

“ As for the old prince, nobody will ever find him. ” the first mate scratches his chin scar with his cutlass. “ Thanks for the maid, though... We needed a slave to cook. "

A toothless corsair playfully throws his dagger from hand to hand.  
Another one swings his cutlass.  
The Westergaard's masks are cracking.

“ Lars, please tell me you didn’t come here alone. ” Hans whispers with a half smile.

“ Well… This was supposed to be a secret meeting. ” Lars takes off his cloak and unsheathes his broadsword. “ Take my sword. ”

Hans will not take it, but he appreciates the sentiment.  
Lars will have a slightly better chance with a blade, he is an excellent swordsman.  
It will not save them, thought.  
At this point, they are just making time.

“ No. ” Hans grabs the torch next to him. “ I like my torch best. ”

He can hear his brother chuckles.  
It is likely the last time he ever will.

Six armed pirates against two princes with a single sword.  
With these odds, you can only fight.  
They both take a combat stance.

The pirates advances on them.

Lars ripostes the first lounge and parries the next.  
With his torch, Hans manages to keep his enemies at bay.

The brothers split up to get more mobility and to decentralize the onslaught against them.  
Lars feints and blocks multiple strikes.  
Hans dodges a high blow and sweeps kicks a pirate.

They continue to deflect attacks, but their opponents outnumber them.  
When the princes get tired, they are finished.  
It doesn’t take long.

They find themselves cornered against the wall.  
Hans loses his torch after a pirate cut it in half with an aimed swing.  
Lars is panting, his back is curved, he also lost his broadsword. 

The pirates raise their cutlasses.

The brothers nod at each other over their shoulders.  
A silent farewell.

Hans closes his eyes, waiting for the blow.  
It never came.

“ Leave them alone! ” a female voice shouts.

The entire cave is filled with an intense flash of light.  
A spike barrier of violet crystals - _amethysts?_ \- immediate appears between the pirates and the princes. 

They see a large purple fire from the tunnel exit.  
Agatha is at the center of it, her eyes glowing.


	8. Amethysts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hans lies to himself... not ALL the time, but...  
> Lars is a decent man, he is smart too but his fears for the kingdom clouded his mind.  
> (I still edit a lot after I post, sorry.)  
> 

For a moment, Hans was happy.

He never felt so connected to another human being as he did when facing certain death with Lars.  
The schemes, the lies, the grudges, all gone, opening way for raw instinct.  
And his instinct was not to push his brother to the pirates and run away.  
It was to fight side by side.

Lars never stand up for Hans, never risk it too much.  
Queen Habba changed the King's mind about sending Hans to the Brotherhood, but she was doing the minimum required to be called a mother.  
Lars helped because she asked him to, and he loves their mother.

He was only supporting _her_ request.  
His older brother helped him sometimes, but in an accommodating way that would never give him too much trouble.

Until now.

They both were free of their own machinations, just surviving together.  
They were free.

That moment is gone, replaced by the impossible scene in front of him.

His shy, awkward maid, is on flames.  
Violet, otherworldly flames.  
She walks towards the men, hands writhing in claws.

The fire from the torches change colors and the cave lights up with the purple glow, creating a supernatural atmosphere.

Everyone is in shock.  
The muscled pirate is the first to recover.

“ H-how she got loose from the ropes? ” he quavered.

“ She is a witch, you moron! ” a pirate with an eye patch shouts. “ Get her before she — ”

With a gesture, a shiny dust comes out from Agatha’s hand and floats to the eye patched pirate.  
It hurls him away like a hammer.  
The rest of the gang is sweating.

The situation was reversed.  
They are the ones who must fight for an exit now.

An amethyst jagged spike trail is formed in their direction.  
They jump aside to not be impaled.  
It almost reaches the princes.

“ Get down! ” Hans throws himself over his brother, keeping both at the ground for cover. “ They tend to lose control. ” 

_Personal experience._

There is a “ they ” now.  
What was the odds of him meeting another sin against the nature like Elsa?  
No, not like Elsa... Different.

The cave is on chaos.  
The pirates launch an irrational attack on the woman causing it.

Agatha is swirling, her moves gracious to Hans for the first time.  
She shoots a pirate with a wave of amethyst spikes from her hands.  
It pins his clothes against the cave’s wall, immobilizing him. 

The first mate throws a dagger at Agatha, it gets stuck at a stalagmite that emerges from the rocky earth.  
Suddenly, his hair is on fire, and he runs horrified to extinguish it in a nearby water pool.

Another pirate heading towards her have his both hands, and his cutlass, engulfed by a rough cape of amethysts, the unexpected extra weight makes him trip over several steps before hitting the ground.

Purple spiky crystals are created from nothing in all directions, cracking the walls, shattering the ground.  
It shakes the interior of the cave, causing small rocks and stalactites to fall from above.  
The bandits scream in terror.

The flames around Agatha recede to the palm of her hand, and she transforms it into a glitter dust.

Some of the pirates tries to run to the tunnel exit, creating courage to pass through her to escape.  
The dust, or whatever it was, engulfed them in a spiral of purple shades.  
The pinned pirate has his clothes ripped and is sucked into the wind along with the others.

A glitter tornado claims the cave and thrown all the pirates through the tunnel, hurling them out of there.  
They can hear them mounting their scared horses and riding away.

There is only the three of them left. 

Agatha is panting, hunched over with her hands still contorted in claws.  
She turns to the brothers, big eyes shining purple, hair as wild as ever.

Nothing of what Hans saw before made him feel what he feels now, when he looks at Agatha.

He feels _terrified._

Not only for his life, for the whole world.  
And this is something coming from someone who survived the Great Thaw, fought a snow monster and saw a woman turning into an ice statue.  
However, while Elsa was capable of creating something pure and beautiful, Agatha emanated... destruction.

The pirates were less threatening than she is.  
What should he do?  
Agatha saved them, but… She doesn’t look like herself.  
Unless _this_ is her true self.

“ Hans, did you…? ” Lars choked.

“ No, I had no idea. ” Hans, without losing eye contact with Agatha, slowly helps his brother to get up.

How did he let _that_ slide?

When Hans met her, he was sure he could discover her deepest secrets in five minutes.  
But apart from when he was thinking about how to exploit Agatha, he never thought of her, nor spoke to her, for more than three minutes.  
A simpleton woman, not worthy of his time.

He is losing his touch.  
If he had paid more attention, if he… No.  
Lars didn’t know either, and he is the one who keeps dossiers of everyone who works at the castle.

Agatha hid her secret over a fabric of insignificance.  
She made a fool of everyone.  
Of him.

_She is dangerous._

As the thought invades his mind, four elite soldiers invade the cave.

Agatha is startled by them, with a swift move, she spins and shoot a spike at a soldier, who evades it just in time.  
The other soldiers gape their mouths, frightened.  
Shocked by her own reaction, Agatha trembles, falling on her knees and passing out all of a sudden.

_It is happening all over AGAIN!_

The intense flash of light blinds them once more.  
The torches return to their original color.  
Not the cave, though.

The ceiling, cracking walls and shattered ground are covered with a mesh of amethysts and spiked crystal trails, shining dimly by the torches light.

“ My lords! ” a soldier, not looking older than Hans, unsheathes his sword, followed by the others. “ Are you alright? ”

That was a trick question.

" Yes." Hans doesn't skip a beat. " How did you find us? "

" We were patrolling the coast when we saw weird lights in the distance woods. " the soldier restrains himself from poking Agatha with his pointy sword. “ What is going on here, sir? ”

That was a trickier question.

The true is out of question...  
Hans and Lars would be accused of treason.

He could say they were abducted by pirates, but then King Claus would sweep the Isles searching for such pirates until he finds them.  
They will eventually confess that his brother hired them...  
Hans and Lars would be accused of treason.

How much did Agatha hear about Lars' plans?  
Witchcraft is forbidden in the islands, all kind of sorcery is banned since King Claus acknowledged the existence of the Ice Queen.  
If Agatha tells them about Lars' plot in order to make a deal and save herself...  
Hans and Lars would be accused of treason.

_Think, Hans, think!_

He glances at his brother for help, but Lars is too bewildered to be reliable.  
It is up to him, it seems.  
Time to put a mask on.

“ Isn’t obvious? ” he seethed, waving his hands in the air, overdramatic. “ What do you think is going on here? ”

None of the soldiers answers.  
The group reluctantly enter the tunnel, perplexed by the current state of the cave.  
They surround Agatha, who is still collapsed at the ground.

_Seeing magic for the first time takes a toll on you._

Great, let them be amazed, this way they will not attend to the details.

“ I was abducted... ” Hans hovers the young soldier, their faces so close that their noses almost touch. “… By a WITCH! ”

*************************************************************

The hideout Lars chose for their conspiratorial meeting was an isolated cave in the woods next to the north coast.  
It was by pure luck that the guards saw the magical lights from there while patrolling it.

The news of Hans's disappearance was already spread and the guards sent to look for him were intercepted by one of the soldier's patrols.  
One thing led to another and the cave was swarmed by soldiers in no time.

The younger soldier, their leader, question the princes.  
Both manage to make up a somewhat coherent story.

_“ No, we just woke up there… ”_

_“ I can’t remember… ”_

_“ Dark magic, no doubt… ”_

_“ You saw yourself… ”_

The interrogation is finally over, the brothers gather outside, patiently waiting for the soldiers to inspect the cave.

They have some time alone while the guards secure Agatha in chains.  
She doesn't wake up, her body limp as a corpse.  
It makes everything easier.

To conceal their conversation, the brothers support one of their hands on their bent elbow and place the other over their lips.  
A reflection of each other, they keep a distance from the cave entrance, watching it over.

" She shouldn't even be here. " Lars has removed his gloves, he was biting his thumbnail. " Those idiots brought her by mistake. "

" Father can't know about the pirates, he will hunt them down and get to you. " Hans added, glancing at his brother hands.

" I'll handle them in time, it is about the girl I'm worried about. " Lars notes Hans is staring at his nail gnawing, he stops it and stares back at him. " She saved us. "

" With her heinous powers. " Hans countered, Lars had no experience with such matters. " She must be detained. "

" Is that why you told them she abducted us to perform a sinister ritual with an unknown purpose? " Lars was clearly controlling his tone. 

" Mandragora sleepiness, amnesia, failed ritual, rescue. " Hans quipped. " Don't forget our arranged testimony."

" She will be executed for this, Hans. " Lars massages his temples.

" She is a loose end. " Hans shrugs. " To protect us we have to discredit her. "

" I intended to give her a bag of coins, a new job at Blavenia's castle... " Lars shakes his head lightly.

" The patrol witnessed her magic. " Hans tilt his head, his brother needs to see reason. " Do you think the King will allow a magic-wielder roaming his lands? "

“ I never wanted to hurt anybody. ” Lars struggles to keep his voice even.

“ Neither did I. ” Hans bleaked declared.

_At first._

He guess Lars understands him a little better now.  
Good intentions can become so twisted... The Hell is full of angels.

They were riding back at the castle with the patrol, heavy soldiers was around the horse carrying a swooned chained Agatha.

“ I’ll make a diversion… You grabs Agatha’s horse reins and make a run. ” Lars whispers.

His brother is distressed once more.

“ No! Why would I do that? ” Hans whispers back.

It would raise suspicions, and they were surrounded by armed soldiers with crossbows!

“ We have to do something! ” Lars leans in.

“ And you said my ideas ended bad. ” Hans voices a little louder. “ This is your fault. ”

“ I was trying to help, you ungrateful— ” Lars grips his reins tighter.

“ You wanted to use me! ” Hans snaps at him.

The soldier at their front turn his head and frowns at them.  
They stop their bickering and straightens on their horses.

The castle was getting bigger and menacing at every second.  
Hans knew that as soon as they got there, Agatha's fate would be sealed.

It is for the best.  
This would guarantee his and Lars' safety.  
Nobody cared about a lonely maid, why would he?

And she isn't an innocent maid, she is... Hans don't know what she is.  
... As he don't know what Elsa is.  
He just know that they shouldn't exist.

So what that she saved their lives?  
So what that she was at the wrong time, at the wrong place?

_I saw what magic can do, it's something that must be eliminated._

If Lars hadn't done any of that stupid kidnapping act, maybe Hans wouldn't have needed to use Agatha as a scapegoat…  
But he also would never know about her magic.  
Everything kind of worked well, apart from the fact that they could be accused of treason if she denounced them.

Not a chance, who would believe a wicked sorcerer?  
The Southern Isles are not Arendelle.  
People have no love for witches here.

In the blink of an eye, they were at the inner yard, going to the dungeons entrance.  
He shouldn't be thinking about any of this, all is settled.

“ I wish to personally interrogate the prisoner. ” Lars dismount his horse, approaching Agatha.

“ Pardon, my lord. ” the heavy soldier halts him. “ Prince Axel alone is responsible for interrogations. ”

Being the second youngest, Axel joined the torments that their older brothers inflicted on Hans to validate himself before them.  
When they grew up, Axel became ruthless and preferred to join the Royal Guard as their Captain.

Lars shoots a worried look to Hans.  
What he expected him to do?

“ Prince Hans, you’ll remain at your room until you are summoned. ” the guard insisted.

Hans doesn’t protest, he is dragged back to his chambers.  
Night turns to day, and he imagines all possible outcomes.  
He saw no way out. Not for Agatha.  
And that was fine by him.

Only Lars felt guilty and let that blind him to the danger.  
He never imagined his brother so blatantly weak.

Agatha is a witch, a threat, a liar.  
She deceived everyone.  
Who knows what else she hides?  
She deserves what is to come.

_“ I only wonder what she wanted to accomplish by coming to the Isles. ”_

In the morning, royal guards came to escort him to the throne room.  
He didn’t get any sleep.


	9. Something Like Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you get the not-so-subtle references to Frozen movie quotes in this fic?  
> I want to be sure they don't make sense only to me XP

After passing hallways he haven’t seen in years, Prince Hans is at the door’s throne room, a large hallway with a high vaulted ceiling.  
His mother is there.

Queen Habba sounded restless, discussing something with a pair of guards that is blocking her way to the hallway.

She is not allowed to enter the throne room, apparently.  
This is a bad sign.  
It means something awful is going to happen there.

The queen visible relax when she sees Hans.  
She motions to get to him, but the guards stop her.

They have a heated discussion Hans can’t hear.  
She is too far away, at the other side of the room.

Her fleeting influence over the king becomes more and more fragile as she ages, and she depended on it to do… everything, actually.  
Giving birth after birth, an unhappy marriage, dealing with the court, being a queen, she never had the chance to be a real mother.

Nevertheless, every time he glances at her small crown set with diamonds, a little voice inside Hans head keeps telling him she should have tried harder.

“ I want to speak with my mother. ” Hans tone is adamant.

It may not change anything, but Hans wants to find out what she knows about what is happening.  
_If_ she knows anything at all.

“ Apologies, sir. ” his escort keeps moving, dragging along the way to the door, inflexible. “ But His Majesty is waiting. ”

After that he glances at her.  
Queen Habba closes her mouth and wrung her hands over her chest, defeated.  
She takes one last look at him before disappearing down the hall, her blue eyes an ocean of sadness.

_This place is a jail for all of us._

Someone opens the larges oak doors, and he takes a deep breathe.  
On the outside, Hans remains a stone statue, on the inside, he is crumbling.

The throne room was the most impressive hall in the castle, it served the diplomatic purpose to intimidate, flaunt luxury and superiority to any visitants.  
Covered walls with huge tapestries depicting the Westergaard’s conquers, smooth black stone floor, marble pillars, a line of heavy soldiers with swords aligned along the red carpet.

At the center, in the back of the room, is the high platform and the golden throne, two lions as an armrest with rubies as eyes.  
A tyrant is sitting on it... A bunch of idiots by his side.

King Claus is a strong man, in all the meanings of the word, despite his age.  
Dreadful green eyes, muttonchops, hair like fire.  
The original mold that he and his brother are imperfect copies of.

He have an unfriendly aura and a calculated behavior that gives him the aspect of an unreachable deity.  
It reminds Hans of why he wanted this man's respect more than his love.

None of his brothers have seats, but Caleb is proudly beside their father.  
Lars was ahead, with heavy bags under his eyes.

It was rare to the Westergaard clan to gather, having all the King’s blood heirs at the same place, at the same time, is unwise.  
They could be eliminated all at once by some coup, trap, or whatever other danger the King’s paranoid could think of.  
And there was, as expected, the endless bickering.

Therefore, they exclusively reunite on special occasions, for the sake of appearances, or when the King deems it necessary, like now...  
Another bad sign.

Hans knelt, feeling the weight of fourteen pairs of eyes and waiting for his father to address him.

“So, you let yourself be kidnapped like a little girl! " King Claus curled his thin lips. “ Fortunately, you are not needed for the investigation, we have enough witnesses and Prince Mars has already told us what happened. "

Hans feels every word at his core.

“ Lars, father. ” his brother sighs. “ My name is Lars."

Lars survives by being invisible to the clan, he wants to be ignored by them, unlike Hans.  
A strategy that made him irrelevant at times like this.

" Get away, boy! " the king continues, ignoring Lars's remark. " I have a statement to make. "

The princes hold a muffled laugh.  
Hans walks to his designed spot at the end of the King’s sons line.  
The last, far away spot.  
He avoids Lars' gaze.

His brother Axel, the closest to him in age, glances at Hans as if he was a cockroach crawling over his leg and moves some inches away.

_I can’t ask him about the witch._

Hans focuses on the thought that if Agatha had said too much, he would be hanging at the main square by now.  
Unless all of this is a play to expose him and Lars at the last minute and set them as an example.

King Claus solemnly rises from his throne.

“ I want you to learn about the magical threat in our world. ” the King waves a finger at his sons. “ A friend of your grandfather's dealt with such a threat before. ”

“ I thought they were just stories, and much of the Great Thaw seems like an exaggeration to me. ” Caleb holds his head up.

_YOU WEREN’T THERE!_

Hans clenches his fists.

“ I used to think that. ” the King turns to his first-born. “ Now I know magic makes people feel too entitled, enough to defy a King." 

“ Are you going to show me how to deal with it, father? ” Caleb adjusts the lapels of his jacket.

“ I’ll show all of you.” King Claus voice thunders. “ Someone gives the boy a sword! ”

A soldier rushly approaches Hands and knees, offering him a longsword.

_So, that is why I am here._

This is not a trial.

“ A witch is a cause of panic, the roots must be cut before it gets deeper. ” The King sits on the edge of the throne. “ That is why the execution will not be public. ” 

“ Why me? ” he grips the hilt of the sword, getting used to its weight.

The young prince does not know how he had the nerve to ask.

“ You have a lot to prove. ” King Claus states simple.

Agatha is a witch with unknown powers.  
Why endanger anyone when there is a spare around?  
His father already took a great risk reuniting his sons, in a ridiculous display of power, to face a mysterious force.  
To teach them some kind of lesson that most of them are unlikely to understand. 

“ If you refuse, I’ll assume you and your brother were colluding with the witch. ” King Claus narrows his eyes. “ Her denial in saying absolutely anything, even to save herself form death, almost seems like... loyalty. ”

Hans is expressive as a rock. He can’t let anything slip away or his father will notice his anguish.  
His mai— _the witch_ — the witch endured whatever terrible interrogation tactic Axel inflicted on her and told them nothing.  
Why?

Hans spend the night coming up with elaborate lies to support his claim.  
She could have told them about the pirates, Lars and—

Agatha didn't want them to die.

Lars seemed to get to the same conclusion, the cool demeanor he was able to sustain until this point dissipates for a second, his brother quickly recomposes himself.

“ Bring me the prisoner!” King Claus yells, leaning on his back.

Hans spins around and takes the opportunity to nod discreetly at Lars in reassurance.

_Hold on, brother, I got this._

Lars nods back at him, they need to play the game now.

The doors open with a heavy sound.  
Agatha is dragged in by an armored militia who pulls her chains, forcing her to move faster.  
Her hands and feet are in shackles, the lower part of her face is locked in an iron mask, covering from her nose to chin.

Hans could not believe it.  
That is _way_ beyond precaution.

_He is afraid of her._

The King is not even doing a good job at hiding it.

But again, Hans underestimated people before and paid a high price for that.  
His father doesn't make the same mistake.

Agatha stumbles inside the room, her tearful eyes meets Hans.

Pleading.

He forces himself to _not_ look away.  
She did this to herself.

The armored soldier push her to the floor, she falls on her knees.  
Tension fills the room along with the clink of Agatha’s chains and the howling wind.  
There is no other sound.  
Until one of his oldest brothers loses his patience.

" Is that it? " he scoffs, his curly hair swaying as he stretches his neck in disbelief. " The big menace?"

_It is easy to not fear a witch in chains._

" Everyone is small to you, Noah. ” Eltz sniffles, combing his chinstrap beard.

" She is lovely. " said the most handsome of them, venturing a little forward to take a better look.

" Viggo! Are you for real? " Johann grumbles, adjusting his monocle with one hand and using the other to hold Viggo in place.

" She is a scared kitten. " Fritz leers beneath his pencil mustache.

" My men interrogated her. " Axel asserts. " She said nothing—"

A wave of murmurs builds up.  
Hans shifts his weight, ready to endure the inevitable chatter.  
Deep down he welcomes it, anything to distract him from Agatha hopeless face.  
She, on her side, kept changing her gaze from brother to brother, scared and confused.

" Your men? Not you?—" Jurgen’s question is lost in the banter.

"—abducted him?! What a joke—” the twins chorused.

"—is magic real?—" Franz rolls his eyes.

"—we have to protect—" that sounded like Emil.

All the princes starts raising their voices.  
The King stands up with a steely face and the silence reigns again.  
He takes a few steps down the throne platform to face Agatha.

“ You are accused of treason, witchcraft and royal abduction! ” King Claus stoves his chest. “ The sentence is… DEATH! ”

Agatha whelps, desperately trying to get free from her chains.  
Does she think he would save her somehow?

_Darling, I have to save myself here._

The soldier holding her chains pulls her back down, forcing her to stare at the floor, exposing her slender neck.  
Lars closes his eyes and winces.  
Hans have to act fast, his brother will break down at any moment.

“ Do it, and I may release you from your penalty, boy. ” King Claus scowls.

He doesn’t need incentive from his father.  
Hans tried to kill in the past to get a kingdom and escape his family, he certainly can do it again to save his own skin.  
Oh, and Lars’ skin too, sure, Lars.

It can’t be that hard now there is no one to stop him.  
At least, he hopes Lars remember what is at stake and doesn't try to stop him.

The prince bows to the king and strides to Agatha, sword in hands.

_I never took a life before... But I learn fast._

Sunlight coming from the larges windows reflects on his sharp blade.  
He swings it high, aiming at her neck, ready to get over with it.  
Agatha raises her head to face him.

Then Hans makes the biggest mistake of his life.  
His second, maybe third, biggest mistake.

He looks at Agatha’s eyes.

Large spheres filled with immeasurable sadness.  
No hate, no fear.  
Just an overwhelming melancholy. 

It strikes him like an invisible blow.  
He pauses his sword middle air.

And in a flash, he is back at Arendelle.  
In a snowstorm, a queen who gave up on her life is on her knees.

He feels the cold and despair coming from her.  
Hans has the power to end it all.

To be the hero! To defeat the monster!

The prince blinks and is no longer Elsa glaring at him.

It is a heartbroken Agatha.  
A poor maid, a lonely woman, a gentle person.

_Stop looking at me!_

She is a witch! He doesn’t care she saved his life!  
It was just a side effect, she was saving herself!  
But she isn’t doing that now.

She drops her gaze back to the floor with the strange serenity that arises only in those who accept death.  
Why his arms doesn’t obey him?

The prince is confused of why, every time he attempts to swing the sword at her neck, his chest hurts.  
His chest hurts... It was not supposed to have anything inside it.

His strength vanishes.  
Hans slowly steps back from Agatha.

“ No... ” he lowers the sword, his words dripping with derision. “ I will not do any of your whims anymore, father. ”

He glances at Lars, who is smiling at him in approval.  
His brother knew he couldn’t do it.  
That sly bookworm.

“ You deny the order of your King? ” his father deep voice shakes the walls.

Before Hans can say something in his defense, his oldest brother is at his side in a heart beat.  
He hits him in the guts with his elbow, making him fall sitting down and pulling the sword out from his hands as he recoils in pain.

“ If he is not man enough to do it, I am! ” Caleb shouts.

“ Wait! ” Lars advances.

It is too late.  
Caleb is swinging the longsword at Agatha.

In slow motion, Hans can see the exact moment the blade touches her pale skin.  
And the flow of energy that hurls his brother to the center of the room.  
Hans shrinks away.

The soldier holding her chains releases it in surprise.  
A wind invades the throne room, shattering the windows glass, flowing through the tapestry.  
It soon transforms in a hurricane.

The marble pillars are getting covered by a coat of amethyst.  
The room shakes as in an earthquake.

Nobody can move.

“ What did you bring inside my halls, boy? ” his father screams.

He? It was the KING that thought that killing a sorcerer in a closed space with all his heirs present was a good idea.

Agatha’s iron mask is cracking and rays of purple light comes out from it.  
Her locks shatter in a thousand of pieces.

_She is free._

Everything becomes purple.  
The lighting reflecting beautifully on the smooth, black floor.

Agatha closes her eyes, she jerks away and opens her mouth in a horrified way, as to scream to the sky.

The glitter dust that come out from her mouth swirls around and concentrates at the bottom of the throne platform.  
It starts to take the form of a female figure.

The dust materializes in a woman… A woman exactly like Agatha.  
An evil laugh echoes.

The real Agatha closes her mouth and faints.

The… _thing_ that looked like her have a shorter hair, eyes glowing purple, and the canines of a vampire, wearing an elegant dress with high leather lapels and long sleeves.

She is more menacing than Agatha at the cave.

The wind stops suddenly.  
Caleb feebly gets on his feet.  
The twins hug each other, trembling.

Some of his other brothers are sneakingly getting away.  
The woman ignores them and turn her head to King Claus.

She shoots him a spike crystal.

Franz, the brother who looked like a viking warrior, tackles their father out of its way, they hit the ground with a thud.

Hans has never seen them so scared.  
The King realizes how he endangered his family.

“ Guards! ” his father yells. “ Kill the demon! ” 

“ Which one? ” Franz looks at Agatha.

Hans does the same.  
Lars is crouched over her, trying to wake her up.

_Is he insane?_

The heavy soldiers at the throne room unsheathes their swords, the initial awe gone.  
The woman sways her hips, and a wall of jagged amethysts with sharp edges surrounds them, each soldier have a sharp pointy spike treating to pierce their necks.  
Another platoon of soldiers storms the room and the woman blows them a kiss, sending a flow of glitter that throws them away.

Soldier after soldier are entering the room, they all charge at the uncanny woman, who knock them out one by one with the wave of her hands, laughing maniacally.

“ Franz, the nursery room! ” the King uses Franz shoulders as a support to get up. “ Evacuate the castle! ”

His brother nods and runs to the door, dodging the amethysts arising from the black stone floor.  
Caleb runs to his father.

“ No! Help your brothers! ” the king commands.

Caleb mumbles something and rush to the twins, pushing them to the exit, doing the same with their other brothers that are too shocked to move.  
They get the push they needed to get out of there.

Hans is lost amidst the chaos.  
He failed to defeat the monster once more.

He watches Caleb dragging Lars out of the room, and then his eyes catches the longsword he left on the floor next to him.  
Hans crawls to grab it.

_Maybe I can–_

The prince feels heavy gloved hands over his shoulders.  
His father’s hands.

“ Run! ” King Claus helps him to stand up. “ NOW! ”

Hans wide his eyes.  
His father never talked to him like that before.  
With desperate concern...  
And guilty.

The evil witch conjures forms of energy, resembling sharp teeth and hollow eyes, they start fighting the rest of the soldiers, but their blades just pass trough the ghostly shapes.

Her attention goes back to the king and his spare.  
She shoots them more than seven spikes at the same time, they can’t avoid that.

It turns out they don’t need to.  
Another seven spikes come from another direction and destroys them.  
The evil witch growls.

An awaken Agatha stares at her in defiance.  
The woman expression becomes blank, and somehow it made her even more terrifying.

“ Agatha… Long time no see. ” her voice was prim and proper, but at every syllable, Hans feels like she has eaten a piece of his soul, sending shivers over his spine.


	10. Mildly Mad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am in quarantine for precaution. I have to work at home, and I am a bit depressed but will keep updating this.  
> In this troubled times, I hope it can distract you too... let's imagine this mess as a 3-hour-long movie.  
> Take care, my friends, everything will be fine.

In a dark dungeon, inside a damp cell, lies a timing bomb ticking the apocalypse.

It arouses as a woman named Agatha.

The men that put her there are afraid of her.  
They locked her in chains.

The interrogation followed just after.  
There is no torture, only pressure.  
They don’t want to get near her.

A prince – or someone who poses as one – orders the guards to make her questions trough the bars.

He knows she is hiding something.  
She can’t tell him about Lars failed plan.

Would the King kill his own son because of that?  
If there is one thing Agatha learned for sure in her time at the castle, is that King Claus is not a man to be provoked.  
So, she held her tongue.

They are treating her with death.  
That is a problem, if she dies…

Agatha tells them what she knows about herself.  
They laugh, not believing her.

The interrogation is incessant.

She is deprived of food, water and sleep.  
A hesitant guard opens her cell and lock her head with an iron mask.  
Confused by exhaustion, she is dragged to the throne room.

Hans is there with his brothers and the king.  
A reckless move from their part.  
Maybe they will be merciful, is that why they are not afraid?

She is restrained, but she doesn't even know what could happen.

_Help me, Hans!_

He remains motionless.  
Now she is really scared.  
She did this to herself.

The princes argues.  
Hans and Lars are quiet.  
Agatha don’t blame them.

The King approaches, a tower of contempt, walls higher than Hans'.  
Her life is on his hands.

A sentence...

They don’t understand.  
Death is freedom, and it can’t be freed.  
She tries to warn them… in vain.

Agatha sees the blade above her head and her fears are gone.  
An empty realization.

Is that why the magic guided her to him?  
Is the Mirror Prince the one destined to end the nightmare?  
So be it.

_Finally… I am so tired._

Is her family waiting for her?  
She still can’t remember them.  
Will they find her in the afterlife?

_Hans… Give peace to the monster._

Agatha embraces her fate.  
The part of her that she keeps caged rejoices.

_Oh, no!_

She was wrong, she must not die!  
Her evil side stirs inside of her, excited about the freedom it will receive. 

_You’ll not be released!_

Agatha have to do something!  
She feels when the cold blade touches her neck…  
And she loses control.  
Completely.

They didn’t believe her.

********************************************************

At exceptional times, the Westergaard’s masks drops for a second, reveling what is hidden…

A man…  
Claus is just a man with a crown.

The only thing more important to the King than himself, was his Clan. Not their well-being, of course, but his lineage.   
His sons being part of him, he had the instinct to preserve them, until such time as they became too inconvenient or his own life was in danger.

_He worries about his legacy..._

Hans doesn’t have more time to over analyses his father actions.  
Because the king already took advantage of Agatha's distraction to sprint out the throne room, leaving him behind.

_… And himself._

He wants to do the same, but his limbs acquired a will of their own, refusing to move since he heard the woman’s lurid voice.  
Her previous blank expression turns into a mix of hate and amusement, her teeth become bigger and sharper.  
She suddenly looked... insane.

“ Did you miss me? ” the childish tone foreign in the dangerous entity voice.

Agatha doesn’t answer her, she jumps to the side after sending waves of energy at her counterpart, who blocks it with an invisible shield, crossing her arms.

The soldiers who had not fled are all at the floor, they were no match for the woman’s ghostly minions.

She points a finger at Agatha and the ethereal shapes charge on.  
Before they can reach her, they explode in a cloud of purple glitter.

The two Agatha's start a battle, shooting lighting bolts at each other, dodging, blocking.  
It was as if they were dancing in the middle of a firework display.

Stone walls, pillars and the ground shakes, cracking apart.  
The magic flow shoves everyone a few inches away, Hans spins on the floor.  
He takes off his gloves to have a better grip.

Agatha doesn’t have the same freedom of movement as her counterpart.  
She is concerned about the wounded soldiers scattered around the throne room.

The evil woman notices this and grins in an impossible wide way.

Violet otherworldly flames, that once burned around Agatha at cave, now appears twirling around her other self.  
It grows high, with no heat, only light.  
In a second, the flames go out and now a seven-meter serpent is at the place of the woman.

_Oh, my God..._

If they continue to fight inside the room, it will crumble apart.  
They must go to an open space.  
Agatha holds her nose up, however, Hans can see her hands trembling lightly.

“ You will never be free as long as _I_ am free! ” she shouts to the giant monster.

Agatha glances at Hans, the same sad look from before… A tear shines.  
Then she dashes out the room.  
The serpent pursues.

Hans grabs a sword forgotten on the floor and chases after them.

The magical serpent hunts Agatha through the corridors.  
At each curve, it slams on the walls, and advances on her, cracking the castle stones, smashing the expensive furniture, destroying the golden trinkets.

“ Get out of the way! ” Agatha screams while running from the beast, gesturing with her arms frenetically. “ Get out the way! ”

There were some confused people in the castle who had not left yet.  
Courtiers and servants opens a path, entering the rooms and closing the doors as soon as they see Agatha fleeing the monstrosity.

Agatha stumbles, taking the longest route to the main entrance.  
Hans assumes she knows the fast way will be crowded with people escaping the castle.

The prince tries not the lose the serpent’s tail from sigh, but the trail of destruction it left behind is enough for him to follow it.

Hans ignores the terrified peeks of those left behind through the doors.  
He dodged and jumped over debris, focused on the frenzied chase.

Agatha doesn’t run to the city, too many people in there.  
She stops at the castle yard and realizes there is too many people in extreme fright there too.

Bad idea.

He watches the serpent looms over her, ready to attack.  
Hans pierces his sword at her tail.  
The beast shrinks in pain, her tongue hisses.

At exceptional times, the Westergaard’s masks drops…

*********************************************************

“ Hans, what are you doing? ” Agatha screams.

The prince rolls over, avoiding the serpent bite.  
He is painting heavily, waiting for another open.

Agatha must use all her strength to contain the monster or it will destroy everything!

Her entire body lights up, she spread her hands and a violet lighting comes out of them, it ties the serpent like a tangled chain.

“ NO! ” the thing contorted its features, fangs dripping saliva, somehow emulating a human sound.

Flames rise and go out again, the evil woman is back at her human form.  
The lighting chains slowly push her at Agatha direction.  
Both seemed to be struggling hard.

Agatha can’t do this alone, she knew she needed help, however, not the kind that Hans, or anyone, could provide.  
If she doesn't stop her, there will be only one desperate option left, and it will condemn the whole world the same way, it would only give them more time.

“ What is this, Agatha?!? ” Hans shouts, running to his ex-maid side, holding the longsword in a defensive stance, like it would make some different against supernatural forces.

“ G-get out of here! ” Agatha veins are pulsing by the effort, she can barely speak.

Their exchange is not ignored.  
The witch’s glowing eyes flickers, noticing something she missed until now.  
She licks her lips.

With an agile move, she manages to cast a lightning bolt at Hans, trowing him back.

Agatha promptly lowers her hands and rush to him.  
The evil witch is still contained by the magic, she stumbles to the ground, dazed. 

“ HANS! ” Agatha crouches, lifting his head, he doesn’t wake up. 

His waistcoat has a hole on it, his bare chest is exposed, the skin etched with the glowing mark of the letter H.  
Agatha recognizes it as the viking rune Hagalz, meaning destruction.

_No, no, no, no!_

A piece of her is inside him.  
It will grow and consumes the man until he is nothing more than a husk.

A curse.  
It is all her fault.

In her peripheral vision, she can see her evil self regaining her strength.  
Agatha must act quickly.  
She closes her eyes and gently places her palm on the mark, muttering words she didn’t know until this moment.

The chaos around them is expelled from Agatha’s mind, panicked people fleeing become blurry figures, the world ceased to exist.

The bright glow fades out from the mark.  
It will do for some time, but Hans days are numbered.  
She will need assistance to remove the rune.

Another magic-wielder, someone powerful, someone–  
Oh, she is so stupid!

_I know what I must do!_

A shadow swallow them and Agatha confront her enemy.  
The evil witch released herself, she prepares to cast something, but suddenly snaps to her side, rising an amethyst barrier that blocks a rain of arrows in the nick of time.

Princes Axel and Lars are in front of a platoon of reluctant soldiers, armed with crossbows.

“ Keep shooting at her! ” Axel yells, hitting his shield with a shortsword. “ Destroy the witch! ”

The woman smiles widely, she narrows her eyes, which glow intensifies.  
Her moves are clipped, like an eerie dance, she knocks them out with ease again…

While they are desperately fighting her devilish side, Agatha reaches out a loose horse that was running in a frenzy, soothing him fast with her mystic hands.  
Much like what she did with Hans when he was having delirious nightmares.

Agatha mounts the horse, she carries Hans sword with her.  
With a gesture, a purple dust orbitates the succumbed prince, levitating him to be accommodated on her horse.

The battle at the castle yard escalated, the ethereal minions appears from thin air once more.  
Agatha have to admire the determination of the Southern Isles militia, even afraid, they are clashing against them with discipline.

But steel is nothing to an enchanted being.

Lars is fighting too, in an incredible focused manner, defending his home.  
From the thing she was responsible for.

Conflicted grows in her guts, she doesn’t want to leave these people.  
Her intention were always to… protect.  
Nevertheless, she can’t do it alone.

Agatha looks at Hans.

There is no other choice.  
With tears streaming down her face, she startles the horse and rides away.

She doesn’t stop, she rides avoiding the regiment of soldiers that are marching to the castle, the people running and screaming.

_I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!_

*******************************************************

At this point, the staggering woman had already subdued the soldiers, the princes escaped, however, she knows they will come back.  
She snaps her fingers and the ghostly shapes disappears.  
The castle yard is in silence, everyone left as little scared ants.

The woman walks slowly, humming between the falling men, gracious as a panther.  
She sniffs around, searching her main prey.  
A faint scent carried by the west wind.

_Silly me, I don’t need to do that! I still can feel her!_

Concentrating all her despise and hate for her jailer, the slightly mad woman close her eyes.

_There she is!_

The sun was high, it obfuscated her vision of Agatha riding away.  
Oh, it was exactly what she wanted it.

“ Run, little spark… I’ll come for you later. ” she laughs like the insane creature she is.

That was delightful, after soooo many years.  
Such a shame she can’t celebrate her recent freedom with a slaughter, she needs these men alive… For now.  
Well, not everything can be fun and games, she have serious matters to deal with!

“ We have to keep her here! Don’t let her get near the city! ” a voice shouts from outside the castle gate.

Her blank stare covered her distorted features again, flames engulfed her.  
More soldiers? So, what she fought here was only the castle inner contingent.

_Yes! More friends to play before I eat this world alive!!!_

In a flourish, the woman turns on her heel and goes to the huge main gate, where Agatha have fled.  
Little Agatha, always leaving the party earlier.  
Her eyes glow brighter.

Ah, it seems they called their battalion.  
No, that is not quite right.  
It is their entire army, sieging the castle in a futile attempt to stop her.  
There is even some good-looking foolish princes as dessert. 

_Don’t they understand?_

_I'LL NEVER BE IMPRISONED AGAIN!!!_

“ Soon, Agatha… ” she shows her sharpened teeth in a psychotic smile. " Now I have a kingdom to conquer. "


	11. Author Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, it has been so long!  
> I'm on quarantine but I have so much work to do at home, and my depression is kicking in again.  
> 

  
TEMPORARY HIATUS

Due to the unfortunate fact that my job gave me a TON of work to do at home, I'll not have the time to update this for a while, but I intend to continue this as soon as possible. I also want to take this time to review the plot, since is getting predictable, and also make some serious changes.  
Stay well, my friends.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to keep it simple for many reasons, one of them is that I imagined this whole thing as a Disney movie and now I need to get it out of my head before I make everybody around me insane! 
> 
> ( Yes, Frozen II was VERY disappointing, it broke my heart, I miss Hans )


End file.
